Forgotten Enemies
by Chris Fitzsimmons
Summary: In this sequel to "Forgotten Relations," Frank and Joe search for the truth behind Iola's disappearance. Nancy Drew shows up later in the story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the second story in my series "The Casefiles Continued." The first one was **_**Forgotten Relations**_**. If you have not read it yet, I suggest you do so before you read **_**Forgotten Enemies**_**. This story is followed by **_**Forgotten Dangers**_** and then after that is **_**Organized Crime**_**.**

**I am going to try to post two chapters a day. **

**Enjoy the story and please REVIEW!! :-D**

**And yes, Nancy Drew Fans, she does appear in this story.**

"Hardy One; Hardy Two, you are a go."

"Hardy One, copy," Frank Hardy said softly into the microphone of his radio.

"Hardy Two, copy," his brother Joe repeated in his microphone. The good-looking blonde looked across the clearing to where Frank was concealed and nodded to indicate that he was ready.

Twenty year old Frank Hardy checked his M-4 assault rifle one last time before nodding back to nineteen year old Joe that he was also ready. He raised his hand and counted to three. One. Two. Three. On three, the two Hardy brothers ran from their hiding places. They sprinted softly across the lawn of the huge South American mansion. They burst through the door at the same moment that dozens of other Network agents forced their way through the other doors and windows all over the large house.

"Freeze!" Joe Hardy yelled at the startled inhabitants. He repeated the order in Spanish. One of the men started to grab a pistol that was sitting on a table. Joe fired a round from his M-4 as a warning. The man hastily withdrew his hand from the gun.

Frank and Joe, with the help of several other agents gathered the group of prisoners into a tight cluster.

"Search them and get all of their weapons and suicide pills," Frank ordered.

"Yes, sir," one of the agents answered as he moved to obey.

While this was being accomplished, Frank turned to Joe. "Shall we see if we hit gold this time?" he asked.

"Definitely," Joe replied.

By gold, Frank meant any trace of Iola Morton. Three years ago, a car bomb had blown up the Hardys' car and, it was thought, Iola. Two months ago, Brandi, the Hardys' newly found sister, informed them that she had seen Iola only two years previous. Joe thought back to that day. Brandi, upon seeing pictures of Iola, had told the Hardys that she had seen Iola at the same mansion where she had been held prisoner for twenty-three years. Brandi had seen Iola being led out to a car by several Assassin guards. Unfortunately, Brandi had not seen her since. The last two months had been spent raiding and searching Assassin bases and safe houses throughout the world. So far, they had found no further clue to Iola's whereabouts. Each new base that turned up nothing decreased the Hardys' hope, but they were still far from giving up.

Joe walked up to the now disarmed group of Assassin prisoners. "Have any of you seen this girl?" he asked in both Spanish and English. He showed them a picture of Iola.

Most of the Assassins shook their heads in a negative response. This time, unlike the others, one middle aged Hispanic man spoke up. "I see girl," he said in broken English.

Joe pulled the man apart from the others. "Where?" he asked. "¿Donde?"

"Chicago," the man answered. "I work there before deported."

"Where in Chicago?" Joe asked excitedly.

A crafty look came into the man's eyes. "For American citizenship, I show," he replied.

Joe looked at Frank questioningly. Frank seemed to consider for a moment and then nodded assent.

Joe turned back to the man. "It's a deal," he told him.

The man smiled. "I show," he said simply.

Joe motioned to Frank. "Let's go," he said. The two Hardys led their informant out of the huge mansion. As they left, they saw the now familiar sight of Network agents leading Assassin prisoners, standing guard, and searching the building for useful information.

Frank led the way through the thick South American jungle. After several minutes of fighting the tropical growth, the trio came upon a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood a sleek jet helicopter. The pilot, upon seeing the Hardys coming, started the engine. Within moments, the large blades were whipping around. Joe opened the door and Frank and the new informant climbed into the helicopter. Joe followed and closed the door. He sat down and looked at the previous occupant of the helicopter.

"He's seen her," Joe told the Gray Man.

"What's his price?" Arthur Gray, the head of the top secret Network, inquired.

"Citizenship," Joe replied.

The Gray Man thought for a moment. "Very well," he consented. He motioned to the pilot and the helicopter rose into the air.

The flight back to the United States was made in virtual silence. The Hardys did not want to discuss the case in front of the informer, whose name, they learned, was Pedro Gonzalez.

After many hours of flight, the helicopter landed at Keesler Air Force Base in Gulfport, Mississippi.

"I must leave you here," the Gray Man told the Hardys. "There is a Network transport waiting to take you to Chicago. In Chicago you will be met by local agents. They will have a car for you. By the time you arrive, there will be rooms reserved for you at the Chicago Hilton. You may use your government credit card to pay for the rooms. Good luck." He returned his attention to his laptop computer and the Hardys knew that they had been dismissed.

The Hardys and Gonzalez climbed out of the helicopter and Joe shut the door. Before they had taken five steps, the helicopter once more rose into the sky.

"Let's get to that transport," Joe urged.

"Okay," Frank agreed. He was about to say more when his arm was gripped and he felt a metal object pressed into his back.

"Do not move a muscle," a man's voice said, "or it will be the last thing you ever do."


	2. Chapter 2

Frank tensed. He was about to twirl about when he heard his "captor" laugh. He turned around to see that the man behind him was actually Agent Eric Jacobs.

"How was South America?" the tall, lanky redhead asked.

"Not too bad," Frank replied as he shook his friend's hand. "A little hot, but we got what we went for." He motioned towards Gonzalez. "Are you our transport?" he asked Agent Jacobs.

"Part of it," he answered. "Follow me, and we'll get you out of this Mississippi sun." After greeting Joe, Jacobs led the way across the tarmac to a waiting Leer jet.

Frank whistled when he saw the expensive plane. "What I don't get," he said, "is why other agencies get dinky cheap stuff like Ford Tauruses and Cessnas and the Network gets Mercedes and Leer jets."

"Basically," Agent Jacobs said, "they know that if we ever get dissatisfied, we might let on that we exist and that would not be good for them so we get what we want."

"I see," Frank replied as Jacobs opened the door in the side of the jet.

"Hurry up and get in," a woman's voice snapped. "We don't want to let all of the air conditioning out."

"It's good to see you too, Sage," Joe said as he climbed the stairs.

"Hardy," she said through clenched teeth, "how many times do I have to tell you that it's 'Agent Jameson' to you?"

"Obviously more that you have," Joe shot back. The others laughed and Sage Jameson turned her back on them.

"Oh, come on, cousin," Agent Jacobs said, "don't be such a party pooper."

The short, fiery redhead ignored him as she sat down.

"So who's the pilot today?" Frank wanted to know.

"Surprise!" another female said as she stepped out of the cockpit.

"Brandi!" the Hardy brothers exclaimed in surprise as they hurried forward to hug their sister.

"I thought you were still in training," Frank told her.

"Well," the attractive brunette told him, "the Network decided to put me on the fast track, so I graduated from 'agent school' early. That law enforcement degree came in handy."

"Congratulations," Frank told his older sister. "Welcome to the Network."

"Thank you," she replied.

"Is the family reunion over?" Agent Jameson asked grumpily. "Or do we have to sit here all day?"

Brandi winked at Frank. "Oh," she told Sage, "I thought we'd sit here all day."

Sage Jameson scowled as the others chuckled.

The Hardys and Gonzalez finally sat down as Brandi returned to the cockpit. Within minutes, Brandi had received clearance for takeoff. The jet sped down the runway and shot into the sky. The passengers on the jet spent the next few hours lounging comfortably and talking amongst themselves. Gonzalez just sat silently, speaking only when spoken to.

After several hours, Brandi's voice came over the intercom. "Prepare for landing in beautiful Chicago," she said cheerily. Several minutes later, they touched down smoothly on the runway of the Chicago O-Hare airport.

After taxiing to the correct hangar, Brandi shut down the jet's engines.

"Well," Frank said, "let's see if our ride is here." He stood up and crossed to the door. He opened it and cautiously peered out to make sure that the coast was clear. Seeing nobody, he stepped out into the empty hangar. The others followed him, Joe keeping a close watch on Gonzalez.

They quickly unloaded their luggage. Frank and Joe took their luggage and hurried to the small bathroom to change. Within minutes they emerged from the room. Their tactical weapons and clothing were packed away in their duffel bags. Instead they now wore dark gray suits with black dress shirts. The shirts were open at the collar and the suit jackets concealed handguns in shoulder holsters.

"You guys finally ready?" Agent Jacobs asked with a grin.

"I think so," Joe replied as he patted his pockets to make sure that he had not forgotten anything. "Yep I'm good."

Frank rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. "Let's go," he said as he started walking towards the outside door. The rest of the group followed.

As they stepped out into the late afternoon sunlight, a young man in a dark suit and tie approached Frank. "Agent Hardy?" he asked.

"That's correct," Frank answered. "And you are?"

"I am Agent Kane," the man replied. He indicated a woman who was a short distance behind him. "This is my partner, Agent Jaimie Kaye."

"Nice to meet you," Frank returned as he shook their hands. The rest of the new arrivals also greeted Agents Kane and Kaye. "Do you have transportation for us?" Frank asked when the introductions were complete.

"Yes, sir," Agent Kane told him. "Follow us." He led the way around the corner of the hangar to the small parking lot behind it.

The Hardys and those that were accompanying them smiled when they saw the cars that were parked in the lot. The first car that they saw was a brand new Infiniti sport utility vehicle. The silver paint gleamed in the sun. Beside it sat a new Dodge Charger. The Charger sported bright yellow paint and black trim.

"You'll have to fight it out between yourselves," Agent Kaye said. "Performance wise, they are comparable. They have been modified to cruise easily at 220 miles per hour. They have some other modifications as well."

"I call dibs on the Infiniti," Frank said. "Eric, you and Sage get the Charger."

"Fine by me," Eric Jacobs replied.

"Here are the keys," Agent Kaye told them. She tossed Frank and Agent Jacobs the keys for their respective cars. "We need to be going now," she said. "It was nice to meet you." The two agents walked quickly away. They climbed into a Dodge Viper and drove quickly away.

"Let's get to the hotel," Frank said when they were gone. "I'm about ready to eat." He strolled over to the SUV that he had chosen. Joe, Brandi, and Gonzalez followed. Frank opened the driver's door and climbed in. Joe and Gonzalez sat in the back seat while Brandi claimed the "shotgun" position.

"Now this is nice," Joe murmured appreciatively as he settled into the plush leather.

"You got that right," Brandi agreed as she surveyed the interior of the luxurious car.

Even Pedro Gonzalez looked at the car in awe.

Frank turned the key and the engine throbbed to life. "Let's find where we're going," he said. He gave Brandi the name of the hotel where the Gray Man had made reservations and she entered it in the car's GPS system. Once the directions were displayed, Frank put the car in gear and stepped on the accelerator. The car shot forward.

Within seconds, the Charger that Agent Jacobs was driving was close behind them. Frank turned onto the road. A few minutes later, the two cars were on the interstate.

"What do you think, Joe?" Frank asked, "will this thing really hit 220?"

"There's only one way to find out," the youngest Hardy replied.

Immediately Frank pressed down on the gas pedal. The SUV leapt forward. Within moments they had reached 100 miles per hour. "How's Eric doing?" Frank called to Joe.

"Still right on our tail."

Frank accelerated more as he wove in and out of traffic. Soon they were going 150 miles per hour. "How about now?"

"Still there," Joe told him.

Frank accelerated still more. The speedometer was approaching 175 miles per hour when the Hardys suddenly heard sirens behind them. "What's going on?" Frank asked his little brother.

"Cops," Joe replied.

"After us?"

"Yep. Eric just pulled over. You have some explaining to do, big brother." As Frank slowed down Joe added, "I wonder how much the ticket is for going 175 in the 65 zone?"

Brandi snickered and Frank gave his brother a dirty look as pulled the SUV to a stop on the shoulder. Several police cars squealed to a stop behind them. The officers poured out of the squad cars and aimed their guns at the SUV.

"Let me see your hands!" the group in the Infiniti heard from one of the police cars' loudspeaker.

"This is not good," Brandi said.

The group was about to obey the orders when Frank's cell phone rang. "Hello?" Frank answered.

"I'm hearing some interesting things coming from the Chicago police band," the Gray Man said. "Is that you?"

"Yes," Frank replied.

Suddenly Gonzalez cried out, "They shoot! They shoot!" He pointed to the back of the SUV as he ducked. The others followed his finger and saw a young policeman aim his sidearm at the SUV and pull the trigger!


	3. Chapter 3

The bullet flattened against the rear window. The Hardys sat back up and looked out the window again. They saw the other police officer yelling angrily at the man who had fired the shot.

"I should have know that this car would be bulletproof," Brandi said shakily.

"Frank!" the Gray Man said as Frank put the phone back to his ear, "is that gunfire I heard?"

"Yes, sir," Frank replied.

"Hang on," Arthur Gray replied. Frank could hear him speaking angrily into another phone. He ended the conversation and said to Frank, "It's all taken care of. And for goodness' sake, don't get out of the car." With that, he hung up the phone.

The other occupants of the SUV looked at Frank questioningly. He quickly told them what the Gray Man had said. They looked at each other and shrugged.

Within two minutes, they saw what the Gray Man had meant. The police officers climbed back into their squad cars, turned off the flashing lights, and drove quickly away.

"Well that was exciting," Frank said mildly as he dialed his cell phone. After a moment, Eric Jacobs answered. "You all clear?" Frank asked.

"Yep," Agent Jacobs said. "They just left. We're pulling up behind you now."

Frank looked in his rearview mirror. Seeing the yellow Charger, he ended the call and put the SUV in gear. He reentered traffic and drove the speed limit all the way to the hotel.

Frank pulled up to the front of the hotel. As they unloaded their luggage, a bellboy came and took it for them. When the SUV was unloaded, the valet took the keys and drove away in the expensive SUV.

The group approached the front desk.

"May I help you?" the clerk asked.

"We have a reservation," Frank told her.

"What is the name, please?"

"It should be under 'Hardy'," Frank replied.

She typed the name into her computer. "Ah, yes," she said, "the Presidential Suite." The Hardys grinned at each other. "I need your credit card," she told Frank.

"Here you go," Frank said. He handed her the credit card that the Network had given him for such occasions.

The clerk swiped the card through the credit card reader. After entering some information from the card into the computer, she handed the card back to Frank. "All right," she said. She handed Frank a cardboard folder with the room keys in it. "Your suite is on the top floor," she informed them. "You can take the elevator right over there." She pointed out the elevator. Frank thanked her and started to walk away. "Enjoy your stay," she replied.

The Hardys and the other Network agents entered the elevator and Frank pushed the button for the top floor.

"Did she say the Presidential Suite?" Joe asked as the elevator began to move.

"She sure did," Frank replied.

"Yes!" Joe crowed as he pumped his fist in the air.

The others in the elevator laughed and Agent Jameson rolled her eyes. "Do you have to make such a big production out of everything?" she asked.

"Hey," Joe defended himself, "I've never stayed in a Presidential Suite before."

Before Sage Jameson could say more, the elevator came to a stop and a bell was heard as the doors slid open. The group stepped out into the hall. They were faced by one door in the long hallway.

"I guess this is us," Frank said, motioning to the words "Presidential Suite" emblazoned on the door. He stuck one of the key cards into the slot on the door. They heard a click and the light on the lock turned green. Frank twisted the door knob and opened the door. He stepped into the suite and stopped short.

"Frank, what's …," Joe began as he followed his brother. He too stopped short. "Wow," was all the usually talkative Hardy could manage.

The room they were standing in was easily as big as the Hardy's whole New York apartment. In the middle of the softly lit room was an ornate fountain. Opposite the fountain, the whole wall was a huge window that looked out over the Chicago skyline. Spread out over the suite were comfortable-looking chairs and couches. On a raised section in one corner of the room was a hot tub. Several doors led from the main room to the bedrooms and bathrooms.

The others shoved their way into the suite behind the brothers. The door shut automatically behind them as they too surveyed the room.

"Now this is nice," Eric Jacobs said appreciatively.

"You got that right," Brandi agreed.

"Muy bueno," Pedro Gonzalez said in amazement.

A knock at the door startled them out of their reverie.

"Who is it?" Frank called.

"I brought your bags," a voice called back.

Frank cautiously opened the door and the bellboy rolled the cart containing all of their luggage into the suite. He surveyed the group standing there. "It's pretty awesome, isn't it?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"Yes it is," Frank agreed. "Just leave the bags out here," Frank told him. "We haven't picked rooms yet."

"No problem," the bellboy replied as he started taking the luggage off of the cart. In a short time, the luggage was stacked neatly. Frank tipped the bellboy and he left with the cart.

When he was gone Joe spoke up. "I don't know about the rest of you," he said, "but I'm going to pick a room and then try out that hot tub."

The others agreed that this was a good plan. They quickly divided up the rooms. Sage Jameson and Brandi would share one room while Frank and Joe shared another. Agent Jacobs would have to share a room with Pedro Gonzalez.

The six quickly took their baggage into their rooms and changed into their swimming suits. Jacobs was the first into the hot tub. Close behind him was Frank.

"Where's Gonzalez?" Frank asked Eric.

"He decided to turn in early," the tall agent replied. He suddenly covered his eyes as Joe entered the room. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Those shorts are brighter than my hair!"

Joe grinned and spun around to show off his bright neon orange swim trunks. "Do you like them?" he asked.

"I think I need a pair of sunglasses," Jacobs replied.

"Get me a pair while you're at it," Frank added.

"Aw, knock it off," Joe grumbled as he joined them in the hot tub.

Joe was saved from further ridicule by the sight of Brandi and Sage walking out of their room. The two girls were both wearing attractive two-piece swimsuits. After the boys' whistles and catcalls had died down, Brandi said, "Sage didn't have her own swimsuit, so I lent her one of mine."

"How do I look?" Sage asked a bit self-consciously.

"You look great," they all assured her.

The usually gruff Agent Jameson gave a pleased smile as she and Brandi climbed into the hot tub to join the boys. The group joked and relaxed for a long period of time.

Frank yawned widely. "I think it's about time for me to turn in," he said. "I'm beat." He started to stand up.

"Do not move," a voice ordered in heavily accented English.

The startled group whirled around to see Pedro Gonzalez standing beside the hot tub. In his hand was a gun that they all recognized as being the standard issue for Network agents.

"Whose is that?" Frank demanded.

"It is the stupid Agent Jacobs'," Gonzalez replied. "He left it in the room when he changed."

The group in the hot tub whirled to glare at Eric Jacobs. He only shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Now," Gonzalez continued, "I will kill you and when I do, El Gato will reward me greatly." He pointed the hand gun at Joe and pulled the trigger!


	4. Chapter 4

Instead of the expected bullet, the group only heard a loud click from the gun. Gonzalez looked at the gun in disbelief. He shook the gun and pulled the trigger again. Once again, nothing happened.

Suddenly, Eric pulled a gun out from underneath the towel that he had set beside the hot tub. He pointed the gun at the Hispanic criminal. "Drop it," he ordered.

The would-be Assassin slumped, discouraged, as he let the gun fall to the floor. "How?" he muttered.

"Do you think that I would be stupid enough to leave a loaded gun alone with a known Assassin? I unloaded it of course," the tall redhead replied. He looked at his fellow agents. "I'm surprised that you guys would think such a thing," he scolded them.

"Sorry," Frank apologized sheepishly. "I guess we weren't thinking very clearly."

"One thing's for sure," Brandi spoke up. "From now on, we're going to have to watch Mr. Gonzalez very carefully."

"You got that right, sis," Joe agreed. He also pulled a gun from underneath his towel as he stood up. "I think it's time for you to go back to bed," he said as he walked up to Gonzalez. He wrapped his towel around his waist. "Come on," he ordered as he grabbed the Assassin by the arm. He practically dragged the man back into the bedroom.

"Lay down," he commanded the Hispanic, motioning to the bed with his gun. "The man meekly obeyed. Joe grabbed a pair of handcuffs out of Agent Jacobs' gear and fettered the man tightly to the head of the bed. Joe grabbed the man's shoulder. "Try that again and you won't live to tell about it," Joe hissed menacingly in the Assassin's ear. "Understand?" Gonzalez, his eyes wide, nodded vigorously. "Good," Joe returned. He straightened up and walked quickly out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

The rest of the group stood in the main room, drying off as they waited for Joe. As he shut the door, they all looked at him questioningly.

"He won't be trying that again anytime soon," Joe told them with a grin. "I think I scared him pretty good."

"Good," Frank replied. "That scared the crap out of me."

"What I want to know," Sage Jameson said, once again all business, "is who 'El Gato' is."

"El Gato?" Brandi asked.

"Gonzalez said that El Gato would reward him for killing us," Agent Jameson reminded them.

"That's right," Frank mused. "Isn't that Spanish for 'The Cat'?"

"That's right," Brandi confirmed.

"Maybe he's the head guy that we've been looking for," Agent Jameson commented.

As the others nodded their agreement, Joe, who had been standing silently with an amused grin on his face, started snickering. The others looked at him as if he were crazy.

Joe hastened to explain. "Doesn't anyone else find it funny," he asked, "that we're standing here in our swimsuits having this conversation? I mean, look at Sage. She's serious as can be as she's standing there in a bikini." With that the snickers turned to laughter.

Sage Jameson turned scarlet with embarrassment and she quickly wrapped her towel around herself.

"Nice going, Joe," Brandi scolded. "I had enough trouble getting her to wear it this time. Now she'll never want to wear it again."

"Oh come on," Joe said. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean, I'm here too. I probably look just as funny. Don't take it seriously, Sage. You look great in a bikini," he finished earnestly.

Slightly mollified, Agent Jameson said, "I think it's time for bed." With that, she strolled over to her room. She paused at the door and looked back. "Goodnight," she said. She looked directly at Joe, "I had fun." She entered the room and shut the door behind her.

"Dude," Eric said as soon as his cousin was gone, "I think she's starting to warm up to you, Joe."

It was Joe's turn to turn bright red. "I'm going to bed too," he stammered as he hurried to his room. As the door slammed behind him, the three remaining people in the main room burst into laughter.

After several moments of laughing, Frank wiped his eyes. "I think that's the first time I've ever seen Joe embarrassed like that," he gasped.

"The look on his face was priceless," Brandi agreed. Eric Jacobs was still laughing too hard to say anything. The three quickly bid each other goodnight and retired to their respective rooms.

Frank entered the room that he was sharing with Joe prepared to torment him with some more good-natured ribbing. His plans were foiled when he saw that Joe was already asleep. Frank quickly changed into his pajamas and had joined his brother in dreamland within minutes.

Frank did not know how long he had been asleep when he jolted awake. What had woken him up? Had his subconscious detected some noise? He lay perfectly still and listened intently. He heard the sound of a zipper. He opened his eyes a small amount and peeked carefully around the room. His eyes came to rest on a dark figure hunched over his duffel bag. Frank's blood ran cold at the next thing that he saw. Clutched tightly in the intruder's hand was a gun!


	5. Chapter 5

Frank tensed his body to jump the intruder. He quickly launched himself off the bed at the dark figure. He collided with the intruder. "Joe!" he called as he grabbed for the person's gun.

Joe, instantly awake, jumped into the struggle to help his brother.

The intruder, outnumbered, finally surrendered. "Okay, I give up!" a girl's voice said.

"Get that light, Joe," Frank told his brother. "I can hold on to this joker."

"All right," Joe answered. Moments later the room was flooded with light.

Frank looked at their captive. He was surprised to see that the girl whose arm he was holding was the front desk clerk that had checked them in earlier. "What's your name?" Frank asked her.

"Candice Winters," the girl replied.

"What are you doing here?" Joe asked harshly. "Did the Assassins send you?"

"Were you trying to kill us?" Frank added.

"Assassins? Kill you? What are you talking about?" Candice asked in bewilderment.

Frank and Joe exchanged a glance. "Open your mouth," Frank ordered.

"No," she returned stubbornly.

"Now," Frank repeated firmly.

Candice cautiously opened her mouth. Frank nodded at Joe. Joe grabbed a small flashlight and shined it in the girl's mouth. After a moment of careful examination he announced, "She's clean-no suicide pill."

Now," Frank said, "it's time for you to tell us what you were doing in here."

"I don't have to tell you anything," she retorted. "I have my rights."

Frank sighed. "I suggest you cooperate," he said. "Right now we can book you on breaking and entering, resisting arrest, attempted murder of federal agents, and maybe a few other things."

Candice gulped. "Federal agents?" she asked in a small voice.

"That's right," Frank said. "Are you going to answer my questions?"

"What did you want to know?"

"What were you doing in our room at…three in the morning?" he asked with a quick glance at the bedside clock.

"I was just looking for something valuable, like some loose cash," she told them. "I figured that you wouldn't miss it if you can afford to stay in the Presidential Suite."

"Why the gun?" Frank countered.

"It's your gun," she replied. "I found it when I was looking through your bags. I was only holding it because it was in my way."

Joe picked the gun up from the floor where it had fallen during the struggle. "She's right, Frank," he said after a quick examination. "It is yours."

"How did you get in here?" Frank asked her.

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" she smirked. "I just made another key down at the desk." She pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to Frank.

After a quick glance at the card, Frank sighed. "She doesn't know anything," he decided.

"Are we going to let her go?" Joe asked.

"I didn't say that," Frank said. "We can legally hold her for twenty-four hours." He thought for a moment. "Go lock her on the couch. We'll drop her off at the police station in the morning."

"You don't have to do that," Candice pleaded. "I promise I'll never to anything like this ever again!"

"The law's the law," Frank told her. "You should have thought of the consequences before you broke into our room." He nodded at Joe.

Joe grabbed a pair of handcuffs and Candice's arm. "Come on," he said. He led the way into the main room. He had her lay down on the couch and he handcuffed one of her wrists to the arm of the couch. He left and a few moments later returned with an extra blanket and pillow. He helped her get situated and then he retired to his room once again.

The rest of the night passed without incident. Despite the night's adventure, Frank and Joe were up bright and early. After showering, the two brothers dressed in blue jeans and windbreakers to hide their shoulder holsters.

As they walked out into the main room, they were met by Agent Jacobs who was dressed in similar attire. "What's with her?" Eric Jacobs asked as he motioned to a very pitiful looking Candice Winters. Frank explained to Agent Jacobs the events of the night while Joe unlocked the handcuffs that secured Candice to the couch.

"Can I get up?" she asked cautiously.

"Go ahead," Joe told her.

"Think she's learned her lesson?" Frank asked Joe with a secret wink to Eric. "Or should we take her to the station?"

"I think she's learned her lesson," Joe replied.

Candice stared at them in disbelief. "You're not going to press charges?" she asked.

"Just this once," Frank confirmed.

"Does that mean I can go?" she asked eagerly.

"Only if you don't want to stay for breakfast," Frank told her.

Candice's amazement grew. "You want me to stay for breakfast?" she asked in disbelief.

"That's what I said," Frank replied. "In fact, I think we could use your help."

"My help?" she almost squeaked.

"That right," Frank said. "You see, none of us are from around here, so it would really help if we had a guide who knew the area."

"I'd love to," she answered eagerly. Then her face fell. "I can't," she said. "I have to work."

"I'll talk to your boss," Frank told her, "and of course, we would pay you."

"In that case," Candice beamed, "I would love to."

At that moment, Brandi and Sage entered the main room. Frank quickly explained Candice's presence and his request for her help.

"Welcome aboard, Candice," and these are Brandi said as she shook the girl's hand. "I'm Brandi Hardy and these are my little brothers, Frank and Joe. The toothpick with red hair over there is Eric Jacobs and short, grumpy looking redhead is Sage Jameson. We are all federal agents."

They all greeted Candice and measured her up at the same time. What they saw was an athletic girl of eighteen years of age. She had short, and slightly rumpled, dark hair. At the moment she was still wearing her clerk's uniform. It was obvious that she has slept in it.

When the group was done greeting their newest member, Frank said, "I'll order room service. What do you all want?" He wrote down their orders.

"While we're waiting," Brandi said to Candice, "why don't we get you into some clean clothes. I think mine should fit you. And while we're at it, you can take a shower too." She led the girl towards her room.

"And while they're doing that," Joe said, "I'll go get Gonzalez ready." He left to carry out his statement.

Forty-five minutes later the whole group was gathered back in the main room. They were startled by someone pounding on the door to their suite.

"Who is it?" Frank called as he approached the door.

"This is the Chicago Police!" was the answer. "Open the door!"


	6. Chapter 6

Frank quickly opened the door. Standing outside the door were a dozen Chicago police officers.

"Can I help you, Officer?" Frank asked the policeman who had been banging on the door.

"May we come in?" the man asked.

"May I ask why?" Frank replied.

"Hotel security informed us that one of their clerks entered this suite early this morning and has not returned. We have a warrant."

"And where did Security get their information?" Frank asked calmly.

"From the cameras in the elevator and hall," the policeman replied. He was beginning to get impatient. "Are you going to let us in or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

"I don't think that that will be necessary," Frank replied. He motioned for Candice to join him. "As you can see," he told the policeman, "Miss Winters is quite all right."

The policeman looked startled to see Candice standing before him. She had changed from her clerk's uniform into a pair of Brandi's jeans and a hooded sweatshirt.

After the officer had overcome his initial shock, he apologized. "I guess we made a mistake," he murmured. He began to turn away but then his eyes widened and he spun back around. "What's that bulge under your jacket?" he demanded.

"What? This?" Frank answered as he reached into his coat. The policemen's hands went to their guns. "Calm down," Frank said. He slowly pulled out his gun, being careful to keep his finger away from the trigger. The police officers grew increasingly nervous. "It's okay," Frank assured them quickly. "I'm an FBI agent." He returned his gun to its holster and pulled out his FBI identification. Because of the secret nature of the Network, all of the Network agents also carried credentials identifying them as FBI, CIA, and DEA agents. Frank showed the police officer his FBI badge.

"It's all right, men," the lead officer said after he had examined the credentials. "These folks are on the level." As his men relaxed, he said, "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Agent Hardy." With that, he turned around and walked quickly to the elevator.

"Well, that was exciting," Joe said as Frank shut the door.

"Sure was," Frank agreed. "Are you all ready to go?" he asked.

"Upon receiving the affirmative, he reopened the door and the group entered the elevator. On their way out of the hotel, Frank stopped at the manager's office and arranged for Candice to have the next few days off to help them.

Soon, the group members were all seated in the borrowed vehicles.

"Okay, Pedro," Frank said, "where are we going? Where is the girl?"

"I not know how to get there," he answered, "but I know address."

"That will work," Frank said. "Let's have it." Gonzalez told them the address. "Do you know how to get there?" Frank asked Candice.

"Of course," she replied. She quickly gave him directions.

Frank started the SUV and drove towards the address that Pedro had said housed an Assassin outpost. The yellow car followed closely behind them.

As they approached the address, Joe found it increasingly hard to keep still. Would he finally find his girlfriend after all of these years? Was he on the verge of discovering what had happened to her?

Joe's thoughts were interrupted by Frank's voice. "This is the place," he announced. "Is this right?" he asked Gonzalez/

"Yes, yes," he answered excitedly. "Girl here."

The groups in the two vehicles surveyed the place skeptically. The supposed Assassin base was a huge dilapidated warehouse. In fact, the whole neighborhood was pretty desolate.

"Doesn't look like anybody's home," Joe said doubtfully.

"That's what we thought about the old store too," Frank reminded him.

"True," Joe agreed.

Frank pulled out his cell phone and called Agent Jacobs in the car behind them. "This is the place," he told him.

"Doesn't look like much," Agent Jacobs replied.

"I know, but Gonzalez insists that this is the place. We're going to switch to radios now."

"Gotcha," Jacobs replied.

Frank ended the call and turned his phone off. The Network agents all clipped two-way radios to their belts and microphones to their collars. They finished by putting ear pieces in place.

"Radio check," Frank said into his microphone.

"Hardy Two, loud and clear," Joe said.

"Hardy Sis, loud and clear," Brandi said, "and still hating my call sign."

"Jacobs, loud and clear," Eric also checked in.

"And Jameson, also loud and clear," Sage completed the check.

"All right," Frank said, "here's the plan. We're going in with Kevlar and M-4s. We don't know what to expect in there. Hardy Sis, you will stay here and keep an eye on Gonzalez and Winters. Everybody copy?"

"Hardy Two, copy," Joe affirmed. One by one the rest of the agents checked in.

"Okay, everybody suit up," Frank ordered, "and check in when you're ready." Frank took off his windbreaker and strapped on a bulletproof vest. He replaced the jacket and grabbed an M-4 assault rifle out of the back of the SUV.

Frank had just finished checking the rifle when Agent Jacobs' voice came over the radio. "Jacobs, ready to go," he said. Within a few moments, the rest of the group had also checked in.

"Jacobs, you and Jameson head to the back of the warehouse and wait for my go ahead," Frank told them.

"Jacobs, copy," the tall redhead said. A moment later the yellow Charger started up and drove away.

"Are you ready for this?" Frank asked his brother.

Joe smiled nervously. "Yeah," he said. "I sure hope Gonzalez is right," he added quietly.

The two brothers climbed out of the SUV, closing the doors quietly. They checked their guns again.

"Jacobs, are you in position?" Frank asked over the radio.

"Ready and waiting," he confirmed.

"On the count of three," Frank said. "One, two, THREE!" With the last word, the group rushed towards the building. Frank and Joe reached a rusty door in the side of the warehouse. Frank tried the handle and, finding it locked, nodded at Joe. Joe delivered a powerful kick to the door and it snapped open. The two brothers cautiously entered the door with their guns ready.

After one glance, the brothers lowered their guns. They could see, by the thick layer of dust that covered everything, that the warehouse had been abandoned for a long time.

"Looks like a dead end," Sage Jameson said over the radio.

"Maybe," Frank replied, "but we need to search it from top to bottom anyway. Maybe they left some clues.

"Copy that," Jacobs said. "We're on it."

Frank turned to a dejected looking Joe. "Come on," he said. "There had to be something left. Actually, from the looks of it, there may be a lot left." He looked around. "It looks like they just left without taking anything with them," he said. "I wonder why that is."

"Where should we start?" Joe asked.

Frank thought for a moment. "Let's start with those cars down there," he decided. "We can check out the cubicles later."

"All right," Joe agreed. He slung his M-4 across his back and started walking towards several cars parked at one end of the vast warehouse. Frank followed.

"Let's start with the black van," Frank said.

"Sounds good," Joe replied. He walked up to the can. "No license plates," he commented. He placed his hand on the rear door handle to open it.

Before Joe had a chance to open the can, Eric Jacobs' voice was heard over the radio. "Frank and Joe," he said, "you need to see this."

"What is it?" Frank asked.

Agent Jacobs' answer made the brothers' blood run cold. "We found some bodies," he told them seriously.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I was looking at my traffic stats and I noticed that my even number chapters have a lot more visitors than the other ones. My guess would be that some people have not noticed that I have been posting two chapters a day and just go straight to the last one. So if things have not been making sense to you, make sure you read all of the chapters! (I'm going to post this at the beginning of the next chapter too just in case I am right about this.)**

**Other than that, thanks for all the reviews and please continue to review!**

"Come again, Jacobs," Frank said after a pause. "I think we misunderstood your last message."

"We found some bodies, or rather, some skeletons," Jacobs replied.

"How many do you have?" Joe asked tersely.

"I'm counting 25 or 30," the easy going agent told them.

"Okay," Frank said, "where are you?" Jacobs told them and Frank replied, "We're on our way." The two brothers sprinted across the warehouse towards the offices at one end.

"Where are you guys?" Joe called out as they approached the room.

"Over here!" Agent Jameson replied from a large room to the brothers' right.

The two Hardys burst into the room, which appeared to be a large office, and stopped short. For once even Joe was speechless. Lying in neat rows were thirty skeletons. Nature and scavengers had done their work, leaving only the bare bones. Remnants of clothing hung on the skeletons.

"What happened here?" Frank finally found his tongue.

"From the bullet holes in the skulls, I'd say they were executed," Agent Jacobs said.

"But who are they?" Joe wanted to know.

"I have a theory about that," Sage Jameson replied. She approached one of the skeletons. Bending down, she pried its mouth open. She looked inside. Then she stuck her hand in and yanked something out. "Just what I thought," she said as she rejoined them.

"What?" Joe asked.

"Look." She held out her hand. Lying in her palm was a partially deteriorated false tooth. The group could all see a capsule hidden inside the tooth.

"Assassins?" Joe said in disbelief. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Who do you think did it?" Frank asked her.

"Well," she replied, "there's the obvious answer."

"What's that?" Joe asked, puzzled.

"Other Assassins," Jacobs answered for her.

"How does that make sense?" Joe was even more puzzled now.

"I think I see what they're getting at," Frank put in. "If the Assassins wanted to cover something up, I wouldn't put it past them to execute some of their own to cover their tracks."

"Exactly," Jameson agreed. "I've seen enough of these guys to know that they're capable of anything."

"Are they all Assassins?" Joe asked cautiously.

"If you mean 'Is Iola one of them?', the answer is 'no'," Jacobs told him. "I checked before we called you. There are only a few females here and none of them are the right size."

"Okay, thanks." The relief in Joe's voice was obvious.

"Well, it's obvious that Iola isn't here," Frank said, "so let's see if we can find a clue to where they took her."

"Sounds like a plan," Joe replied.

"Eric, it's going to take forever to go over this place. Why don't you call up the local office and see if they can send out a team to help," Frank suggested.

"Will do," Eric Jacobs told him. He took out his cell phone to do just that.

"So where should we start looking?" Joe asked his older brother.

"Let's think this out logically," Frank replied. "If they were holding Iola here, they had to have had some kind of holding cell to keep her in, right?" Joe nodded his agreement. "So if we find the cell," Frank continued, "we might find some clues there. If Iola was here very long, I'm sure she tried to leave some sort of trail for us."

"Makes sense," Joe agreed.

"So what do you say we find that cell?" Frank said.

"Let's go," Joe answered.

"Hey, Eric," Frank said, "we're going to go find Iola's cell."

"All right," he replied. "I just got off the phone with the office and they said they'd send out an evidence team."

"Great!" Frank said. "Let me know when they get here."

"Sure thing."

"The two Hardys left the room with the bodies and started down the hall. After opening several doors that led to more offices and living quarters, the brothers stopped before a door that looked sturdier than the others.

"I have a good feeling about this one," Joe said as he grasped the door handle. He tried to open the heavy steel door. "It's locked," he announced.

"Got your kit?" Frank asked.

"Of course," Joe replied with a grin. "I never leave home without it." He knelt in front of the door as he pulled a nylon case from his jacket pocket. He unzipped the case and selected a lock pick. He inserted the slender instrument into the key hole and manipulated it. After a few moments, his efforts were rewarded with a click. Joe grinned at his brother as he replaced his lock kit in his pocket.

"Nice job," Frank admitted.

"Thanks," Joe answered as he twisted the handle. The door opened with the screech of rusty metal hinges.

"It's pretty dark in there," Frank said.

"No windows," Joe agreed. He pulled a small but powerful flashlight out of his pocket and clicked it on. Beside him, Frank did the same.

"Wow," Frank said in awe.

"Not exactly what I expected," Joe agreed.

Revealed in the beams of their lights were racks full of weapons. The brothers saw assault rifles, pistols, knives, grenades, and even some shoulder fired rockets. A shelf along the back was stacked with cases of ammunition.

"I've seen government arsenals that weren't this well equipped," Frank said after a minute.

"I think I'll lock this back up," Joe said. "It's obviously not what we're looking for."

"Good idea," Frank told him.

Joe quickly relocked the door. The brothers continued down the hall. After checking several more rooms, they stopped in front of a formidable steel door.

"This is it," Joe said. "I can feel it."

"I think you're right," Frank agreed as he surveyed the door. We might have a small problem though.

"What's that?" Joe wanted to know.

"Do you see any handles?" Frank replied.

"Good point," Joe returned.

"I'm guessing the keypad right here is how we get it open," Frank said.

"What are you waiting for?" Joe asked. "Don't you have that little gizmo to hack keypads?"

"Yes," Frank replied," but I also need electricity."

Joe slapped his forehead. "I feel really stupid," he groaned.

Frank patted his brother's shoulder. "Don't feel too bad, I'll tell be sure to tell Sage what a genius you are," he said with a smirk. He barely dodged the fist that Joe directed at him. He laughed and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed some numbers and waited.

"Hello, Chicago Power and Light," a friendly voice said.

"Hi," Frank replied. "This is Special Agent Frank Hardy of the FBI. I need some power to this building." After several minutes more of talking, Frank ended the call. "She said they'll have it on in five or ten minutes," he told his brother.

"More waiting!" Joe lamented.

"While we're waiting, let's get Brandi and them in here," Frank suggested.

"Sounds good," Joe agreed.

Frank called their sister and arranged to meet her at one of the large overhead doors in the front of the building. The brothers walked quickly to the designated spot. Frank studied the doors. "We should be able to get this open," he decided. "Give me a hand."

The two brothers strained to pull the door up by the chain at the side. They were on the verge of giving up when the rusty pulleys finally started turning and the door opened slowly. In several minutes the door had opened enough for Brandi to drive the Infiniti SUV into the warehouse.

"Wow! Look at this place!" Candice exclaimed as she exited the SUV.

"Don't touch anything," Frank cautioned. "Make sure they don't," he told Brandi as she also alighted.

"I will," she assured him.

At that moment the Hardys were startled by the noise of the large overhead lights turning on.

"Bingo!" Frank said with a smile. "We have power."

"Let's get that door open," Joe added. The two brothers quickly jogged back to the huge steel door that they were sure protected Iola's prison. They were there in a short time. "Okay," Joe said, "do your thing, big brother."

Frank looked at the box for a moment and then pulled out his combat knife. He used it to pry off the black plastic housing from around the keypad. Using a pair of wire cutters from his pocket, Frank cut and stripped two of the exposed wires. He connected a pair of alligator clips from a small electrical device to the bare wires. He then flipped a switch on the device. After several second, there was a beep from the device that Frank held. The door swung slowly open. Frank disconnected the device and placed it in his pocket.

The two brothers stepped into the lighted cell.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I was looking at my traffic stats and I noticed that my even number chapters have a lot more visitors than the other ones. My guess would be that some people have not noticed that I have been posting two chapters a day and just go straight to the last one. So if things have not been making sense to you, make sure you read all of the chapters! (I also posted this at the beginning of the previous chapter so I could be sure everybody saw it.)**

Frank and Joe quickly surveyed their surroundings. They stood in a concrete cell. The room measured approximately fifteen feet on all sides. Along one wall was a twin size bed. A military wool blanket was folded neatly at the end of the bed. A chair sat against one of the other walls. An open door at the back of the room led to a small bathroom.

"I'll start looking out here," Frank said, "and you can start in the bathroom."

"Why do I get the bathroom?" Joe complained.

"Fine," Frank sighed, "I'll check out the bathroom."

The two brothers started their search. After several minutes, Joe walked to the bathroom door. "Any luck?" he asked.

Frank looked up from the shower that he was scrutinizing. "Not yet," he said. "You?"

"Not much," the younger Hardy replied. "This place has been cleaned out pretty good. I did find one thing though."

"Oh?"

"On one of the bed legs there's a spot the looks like something was removed with a grinder or file."

"Something such as a message scratched in the metal?" Frank replied.

"That's what I'm hoping," Joe answered.

"Great. When the evidence team gets here, we'll see if they can restore it."

"Sounds good," Joe told him. "Are you just about done in here?"

"Almost," the elder Hardy said. "I just want to check one more thing." He bent down in the shower again. He pulled out his combat knife and used it to pry up the drain filter. He used a pair of tweezers to fish around in the drain. After a few moments a wide grin split his face. "Bingo," he said. He pulled the tweezers out of the drain. Caught in the tweezers were several hairs.

"Think that's enough for a DNA test?" Joe asked.

"It should be," his brother replied as he put the hairs in a small plastic vial.

Joe also grinned. "Now we're getting somewhere!" he exclaimed.

"You got that right," Frank agreed. He tucked the vial into his pocket. "While we wait for that evidence team, let's check out the other rooms off of this hall," he suggested.

"Okay," Joe said as they stepped out of the cell.

Frank punched several buttons on the keypad beside the cell door and it slid shut with a muffled bang.

"We're in luck," Joe announced. "There are only two doors left."

"Good," Frank said. "This shouldn't take too long then." He swung open the first door. "This could come in handy," he told Joe. "After the evidence team is done that is."

"Sure could," Joe agreed as he surveyed the janitor's closet full of cleaning equipment and supplies.

Frank closed the closet door. "And last but not least…," he announced as he threw open the last door, "…whoa."

"Hey, this is pretty sweet," Joe said as he stepped into the room. The room was full of sophisticated computer equipment. An advanced security camera monitoring system took up one whole wall.

"I'm guessing that this is the command center," Frank stated the obvious. He glanced around the room again. "This stuff is all a few years old," he told Joe, "but it's still pretty state-of-the-art."

"And it's running," Joe said, observing the myriad of colored lights and the images on the screens.

"It probably started up automatically when they turned on the power," Frank decided.

Joe walked towards the far end of the room. He stopped suddenly.

"What is it?" Frank asked quickly, he hand going to his gun.

"Looks like whoever was in here didn't go down without a fight," Joe said. "There's another skeleton lying on the floor over here."

"Executed?" Frank asked as he joined him.

"I'm leaning towards executioner," Joe replied. "Look."

Frank looked at the skeleton sprawled on the floor. "I think you're right," he agreed. "He's wearing tactical gear, unlike the others, and he's been shot in the chest, not execution style."

"This is great!" Joe rejoiced as he knelt beside the skeleton. "Maybe we can find out who killed all of those Assassins." He searched the corpse's pockets. "No ID, of course," he said. "Eighteen dollars cash, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter is all."

"Look inside his hat," Frank suggested.

"Why?" Joe asked, puzzled.

"Just a hunch," Frank smiled.

"Whatever," Joe replied. He pulled off the dead man's hat and looked inside. He stuck his hand in and pulled out a picture. He looked at it and handed it to Frank. "This was in the band," he informed him.

"I thought so," Frank said.

"How did you know that it would be there?" Joe demanded.

"Well," Frank explained, "we know that a lot of these guys are ex-military, right?" Joe nodded. "Well, in the military, soldiers will quite often keep pictures of their girlfriends in their hats." He examined the picture again. "She's very pretty," he said as he put the picture into his pocket.

"Let me guess," Joe said, "we're going to find her."

"You guessed right," his brother said with a grin. "Now check and see what kind of handgun he's carrying.

Joe carefully pulled a large gun out of the nylon holster that at one time had been attached to the man's leg. "Desert Eagle," he announced, "the favorite weapon of Assassins worldwide." He ejected the clip and looked at the revealed bullet. "He's got the .50 caliber model," he said. "This thing will put a hole in you big enough to drive a truck through."

"Well," Frank said, "we have a pretty good idea who he works for, but just to be sure, check his mouth."

Joe opened the skeleton's mouth and reached inside. A moment later he held up a false tooth. "All doubt removed," he said, "our skeletons were assassinated by Assassin assassins." He grinned.

Frank groaned at his brother's joke. "That was horrible," he stated.

"I know," Joe told him, "but I couldn't resist."

"Let's check out the camera setup," Frank changed the subject. "Maybe they left something we can use."

Joe hopped up and faced rows of screens. After glancing at the controls, he pushed a few buttons. "File not found," a message flashed on the screen.

"Looks like they erased the recordings," Joe told his brother.

"Maybe," Frank replied, "but we may be able to recover something. Most of these systems have some kind of backup. From what I've seen, the Assassins that wiped out this place did it in a hurry. I mean, they left their whole armory. In their haste they may have overlooked the backup."

"Think you can access it?" Joe asked excitedly.

"I hope so," Frank said. He knelt to look under a desk at the equipment there.

Suddenly, his radio came to life. "Hey, Frank," Brandi said, "the evidence team is here."

Frank keyed his radio. "That's great," he said. "Send me a lab tech right away." He quickly gave her directions to where he was.

After a short silence, Brandi said, "Okay, he's on his way."

"Let's see if I can access the backup now," Frank said half to himself. He flipped a switch underneath the desk and then straightened up. He typed several commands into the system using a keyboard. "That should do it," he announced, sounding satisfied. He hit another key and a long list of files appeared on the screen. "So what do you want to watch?" he asked with a grin.

"What do you have from inside the cell?" Joe replied.

"Let me see," Frank said. He scrolled the file list and finally selected one. The file opened to reveal the inside of the cell several rooms down. "This is from two and a half years ago," Frank announced.

"Can you fast forward?" Joe wanted to know. "There's no one in there and according to Brandi, Iola was still in California then."

"How about this?" Frank said. He pressed a few keys. "This is only two years ago."

"There's still nobody," Joe said.

"The bed's been slept in," Frank replied. Then, "Look! Someone's coming out of the bathroom!"

The brothers watched impatiently as the bathroom door slowly opened. The occupant stepped into the camera's view.


	9. Chapter 9

Frank and Joe kept their eyes glued to the screen as they waited for the camera to show them who the prisoner was.

"I can't tell," Joe said. "Her head is down."

"She'll look up sooner or later," Frank assured him.

At that moment, Frank's words were fulfilled. The girl on the recording tipped her head back and looked directly at the camera. Frank paused the playback.

The two brothers stared at the screen, speechless.

"It's her," Joe finally said, the words catching in his throat. He suddenly broke into a huge grin. "She's alive!" he yelled happily.

"Who's alive?" Brandi asked as she walked into the room with a Network lab technician.

"Iola," Frank answered.

"Look," Joe ordered, pointing at the screen.

Brandi obeyed her excited younger brother. "So she is," the eldest Hardy agreed.

"Excuse me, Agent Hardy," the lab tech said.

"Yes?" all three Hardys replied at once. They all laughed at the look on the technician's face.

The man, realizing what he had done, smiled. "What did you need me for?" he asked Frank.

Frank handed him the vial containing the hairs. "I want these checked for DNA," he said. "Specifically, the DNA of one Iola Morton."

"Got it," the tech answered as he tucked the vial into the bag he was carrying. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Frank said. "Follow me." He led the way to the cell. He knelt beside the bed and pointed to a spot on the leg. "We think something was scratched into that leg, and the Assassins removed it. Any chance of finding out what it was?"

"Maybe," the tech told him. "Let me try something." He also knelt beside the bed. He pulled a bottle out of his bag. He unscrewed the bottle and, using a small brush, painted the leg of the bed with the bottle's contents. He pulled out a strange looking electronic device. "Can we lose the light?" he asked.

"I got it," Joe said. He walked out of the room and seconds later they were plunged into darkness.

Joe rejoined them as the technician turned on the device. "Ultraviolet light," he explained as a purplish glow bathed the bed leg."

The glow revealed three letters. "I L M," the tech read out loud. "What does that mean?"

"Iola Leigh Morton," Joe answered. "If we needed any more proof that she was here, there it is."

"What's that below the initials?" Brandi asked.

"Looks like a heart," Frank said after a close examination.

"A heart?" Brandi repeated. "I don't know about you, but I would not be carving hearts in the bed if I was locked in here."

"You're right," Joe said thoughtfully. He leaned over and rapped the bed leg with his knuckle. "It's hollow," he said. "Help me lift it," he said to Frank. The two brothers lifted the bed up. Joe stuck his fingers into the bottom of the leg. "I've got something," he announced. He pulled it out. "I need a light," he said as they set the bed down.

"Here you go," Frank said as he pulled out his flashlight. "What did you find?"

"Some paper," Joe answered. He unfolded the sheets and something clinked on the floor. "What was that?" he asked, looking down.

"This," Brandi replied. She handed him a necklace.

Joe looked at the delicate silver necklace in the glow of the flashlight. He audibly gasped and almost dropped it again.

"What is it?" Frank asked.

"This is the necklace that I gave to Iola for her birthday a week before she disappeared," Joe answered. He looked at the two sheets of paper that had been around the necklace. "I thought so," he said with satisfaction.

"What?"

"This is a note in her handwriting," Joe said.

"How did you know it was there?" Brandi was curious.

"When Iola and I were younger, we would hide notes for each other so that Chet couldn't find them. We would mark the hiding place with our initials and a heart. The point of the heart always pointed to the note," Joe explained.

"Ah, how sweet," Brandi teased.

Joe pretended to glare at his sister. "We got along without you for twenty years. I think the rest of our life could be arranged," he threatened.

"All right, knock it off, you two," Frank intervened. "What does the note say, Joe?"

"It says: 'To whoever finds this, hopefully Joe: My name is Iola Morton. I was kidnapped out of the Hardys' car moments before it exploded. As far as I know, everyone thinks that I am dead. I was taken from New York to Los Angeles. I was held prisoner in a large mansion. My captors took hundreds of pictures of me. I don't know why. On August 20th, my captors dragged me out of the mansion. They seemed very angry. I was brought here to this warehouse in Chicago and locked in this cell. I have been left virtually alone since I got here. I think someone is coming.' That's the end of the first one. The next one is dated December 15th. 'I heard some of my guards talking. They said that I am going to be taken to "El Gato" soon. If someone finds this, please call Joe Hardy in Bayport, New York at 555-6739.'" Joe stopped.

"Is that all?" Frank asked.

"No," Joe answered, "there's one more. It's dated December 25th. 'Some Christmas. I'm trying to be hopeful, but it's hard after all this time. I just heard gunshots! Someone's coming!' That's all," Joe finished quietly.

"Wow," Brandi whispered.

"Let's not sit here," Frank said, "we need to find out what happened." He addressed the lab technician, "Go do the analysis on those hairs. And make sure they get started on these skeletons also. I want pictures and information on those corpses ASAP."

"Right away," the tech said over his shoulder as he hurried out of the cell.

"Well, now we know when to start looking on those archives to find out what happened here," Frank said to his brother and sister.

"Right," Joe said, "Christmas, two years ago."

As the group walked back toward the control room, Brandi asked, "Why do you think they took so many pictures of her?"

"I know exactly why," Frank said, his voice cold and hard. "Joe, what happened right before August 20th two and a half years ago?"

Joe's face went white and Brandi was afraid he would collapse. After he got over the initial shock of what his brother had said, his face also hardened. "I want to get my hands on whoever's responsible for that," he said very seriously.

"What happened?" Brandi demanded, looking at each of her brothers.


	10. Chapter 10

"Remember how I told you a few months ago that an Assassin had impersonated Iola?" Frank asked his sister.

Brandi thought a moment and then nodded. "I think so," she said.

"Well, that happened in that August. The fake Iola very nearly led Joe and I to our deaths."

"Obviously things didn't go as well as she had hoped," Joe added. "That's probably why they were so angry when they moved Iola that day. Their trap for us had failed."

"The pictures were probably for the surgeon to copy off of," Frank finished.

"That's scary," Brandi said. She snapped her fingers. "Didn't that note say something about 'El Gato'?" she asked.

Joe read the note again. "Yeah. She says that her guards say that she's going to see 'El Gato' soon."

"That's the second time that name has come up," Frank mused.

"We should ask Pedro about him," Joe suggested.

"Good idea," Frank agreed, "but first, let's check out the security archives and find out what happened here." He selected a file from the list of video archives on the security camera backup. "This should be it," he said.

The three siblings studied the screen in front of them. The camera showed the inside of the large office where they had found the skeletons.

"We're starting at midnight since we have no way of knowing when on Christmas everything went south here," Frank said unnecessarily.

Frank started fast forwarding through the recording. The hours of the tape flew by in minutes.

"Stop!" Joe said suddenly. Frank put the recording back to real time as Joe said, "Someone just came into the office."

Frank looked at the time of day displayed in the corner of the image. "6:30 in the morning," he said. "Someone's getting to work early."

"Looks like the big cheese for this branch," Joe said.

"That would explain the big office," Brandi replied sarcastically.

Joe stuck his tongue out at his sister and she returned the gesture.

Frank rolled his eyes. "Knock it off or I'll take you both out." His two siblings replied by sticking out their tongues at him. He rolled his eyes again and turned back to the screen. "He's on the phone now," he murmured.

"And he doesn't want anyone to hear him," Brandi added. "See how he keeps looking around to make sure nobody else is around?"

"I think that you're right," Frank agreed.

"Can we get audio in here?" Joe wanted to know.

"Not for the office," Frank replied. "I can for almost every other room but not that one."

"Too bad."

"Well, we can see what else is happening in there anyway," Frank said as he began fast forwarding again. After a few minutes he reduced to normal speed again. The time on the screen read 7:30 AM. "Something's happening," he said. The three Hardys could see a line of people entering the office. They were being herded by a group of people wearing the same black tactical clothing as the skeleton that they had found in the control room. The prisoners lined up in neat rows in front of the desk. Without a word, the man behind the desk nodded to one of the men with a gun. The Assassins that were wearing the tactical clothing walked up behind their prisoners and shot them in the head, one by one. The man behind the desk stood up and walked out of the room without a backwards glance.

The Hardys sat in stunned silence. After a few moments, Joe finally spoke. "Can anyone tell me what just happened?" he demanded angrily. "What was that all about?"

"I don't know," Frank said quietly, "but I'm going to find out." He rewound the recording to a point where the head Assassin's face was clearly distinguished and paused it. He pulled a small digital camera out of his pocket and took a picture of the criminal's face. "I'll run both his picture and the picture from the other guy's hat through the facial recognition program and see if I can get any hits," he said.

"Let me recap what I think just happened," Brandi said. "From the looks of it, the head guy gets on the phone and calls some other Assassins from somewhere. They show up in about an hour and execute all the Assassins from here on his order. Then they all leave and try to erase any clues that would help us. Am I right?"

"Sounds about right to me," Joe agreed.

"One thing," Frank said. "If these guys showed up in under an hour, than that means that they were pretty close. Especially in Chicago traffic."

"So there's another base somewhere around here?" Joe caught on.

"I think that's a reasonable assumption," Frank said. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Eric Jacobs. "I need to talk to the head of the evidence team," he told him.

"I'll transfer you to his cell," Jacobs answered. "Also, when you get a chance, you should check out the upstairs."

"All right," Frank answered, "I'll do that now."

Frank held his phone to his ear while he walked towards the stairs with his two siblings. After two rings, the lead agent on the evidence team answered his phone. "This is Agent Jack Kipp," he said.

"Agent Kipp, this is Agent Frank Hardy," he identified himself.

"What can I do for you, Agent Hardy?" the deep voice asked.

"We have reason to believe that there is another Assassin base in the near vicinity," he told him. "Tell your team to be on the lookout for any clues that could lead us to the other base."

"I will do that," Agent Kipp answered.

Frank thanked him and ended the call. The three Hardys had just reached the bottom of the staircase when Agents Jacobs and Jameson joined them.

"You are going to be amazed at this," Eric Jacobs said. "I was and I think that even stone cold Sage here was too."

Sage Jameson glared at her cousin then admitted, "I was pretty amazed."

"Don't keep us in suspense," Joe said. "What's up there?"

"Follow me," he answered. He started up the stairs.

The Hardys, after looking at each other, shrugged and followed him.

At the top of the stairs, Agent Jacobs threw open the door and exclaimed, "Behold!"

The three siblings stepped through the door and stopped short.

"Wow!" was all that they could manage.


	11. Chapter 11

"This is better than our suite at the Hilton!" Joe finally said.

"I told you it was amazing," Jacobs said.

"I know, but I never imagined this."

The room that they were standing in was actually the living room for a large apartment. The apartment, although dusty from years of disuse, was lavishly furnished with expensive furniture and decorations.

"I'm guessing that this is the head honcho's pad," Joe said.

"You're probably right," Jacobs agreed.

"Is the whole apartment like this?" Brandi asked.

"Sure is," Jacobs told her. "There are five bedrooms, an office, four bathrooms, a spa complete with hot tub and sauna, and an enormous kitchen."

"Wow," Joe joked, "I think I'm working for the wrong side."

When the laughter had died down, Frank said, "I want to talk to Pedro, then I'm going to call the Gray Man and report in."

"We'll stay up here," Joe said, "and look for clues."

Frank hurried down the stairs to where Pedro Gonzalez and Candice Winters were standing under the close guard of a Network Agent. "Who is 'El Gato'?" Frank asked Gonzalez.

A look of fear came over the ma's face. "I know no 'El Gato'," he said quickly.

"Yes, you do," Frank said. "You said his name last night when you tried to kill us." He moved closer to the man and lowered his voice to a threatening growl. "If you don't keep your end of the bargain, we don't have to keep ours," he reminded him.

"But he will kill me," the man whined.

"If you don't tell, I will kill you," Frank threatened.

"Okay! Don't hurt me! 'El Gato' is, how you say, the boss."

"He's in charge of all the Assassins?"

"Sí, he in charge."

"What does he look like?"

"I not know!"

"Where does he live?"

"I not know!"

"You see to 'not know' a lot," Frank said. "I know you have some idea of where his headquarters are."

"None of us know," the man protested. "It is top secret!"

"But you've heard rumors."

Gonzalez shrugged. "Some say Cuba, but others say China. No one knows for sure."

"What else do you know about him?"

"Nothing! Only that he is very mean. If he find out that I tell you about him, he be very angry. Maybe kill me!" The man changed gears. "I tell you everything. I can go now?"

"Not yet," Frank answered. "We're going to keep you in custody until we wrap up this case." He addressed the guard beside them. "When you guys leave, take him with you and put him in a cell."

"Yes, sir," the agent answered.

As Frank turned to walk away, Candice called out, "Can I come with you? I want to see more of this place."

Frank thought for a moment. "All right," he finally said.

Candice happily walked along with him. Frank finally managed to track down Agent Kipp.

"Anything yet?" he asked as he shook the man's hand.

Agent Kipp shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "The computers have been wiped and all the paper files have been destroyed or taken. Everything has been wiped down, so there are no finger prints."

"What about the vehicles over there?" Frank asked.

"The license plates have been removed and the VINs have been filed off. I have some people trying to find serial numbers to run." He spoke into the radio on his collar. "Kunzman, you got anything on those cars yet?"

"I just got the results back," the agent replied. "I'll be right over." In a few minutes a short, balding man came strolling up.

"What do you have?" Kipp asked him.

"The black van and the black Lincoln were reported stolen several years ago."

"And the Limousine?"

"Belongs to an Edward L. Gato with this address."

"So in other words, we have nothing," Frank said.

"We could track down Edward Gato," Agent Kunzman said.

"You wouldn't get anywhere," Frank said. "I'm pretty sure that 'Edward L. Gato' is a poorly hidden 'El Gato,' the codename for the head Assassin."

Agent Kunzman looked at the papers in his hands again. "You're right," he sighed.

"Good work though," Agent Kipp told him. "Why don't you go see if anyone else needs help?"

As the man left, Frank asked, "Any luck with the DNA?"

"We're working on it," Kipp replied. "We should have the results ready for you tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Frank told him. He started to walk away. "I'm going to report in," he said. "Let me know if you find anything else."

Frank pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Gray here," Arthur Gray answered. "What do you have to report, Frank?"

"Not a whole lot, yet," Frank told him. He quickly explained what they had found in the abandoned warehouse.

"From what you've told me," the Gray Man said when Frank had finished, "I think that the warehouse needs to be guarded 24/7. Would you agree?"

"That sounds reasonable," Frank answered.

"I would have the Chicago Field Office undertake that," the Gray Man told him, "but they are very understaffed and overworked right now. What I want you to do is hire a cleaning crew to come in and clean up the warehouse. When they are done, your team will move out of the Hilton and occupy the warehouse. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," Frank replied. "Perfectly."

"Good." With that, the Gray Man hung up the phone.

"What do you understand perfectly?" Candice, who had been standing by quietly, asked.

"My superior has ordered us to check out of the Hilton and stay here," Frank told her. "Do you still want to help us?"

"Sure," Candice said. "This place is cool."

"Okay," Frank said. "I'll have Agent Jameson take you to your place so that you can get some stuff. The rest of us will get our stuff from the hotel."

"Sounds good," the girl replied.

Frank called the rest of the team and told them the change of plans. "Everyone meet down here ASAP," he ordered. "I want to be back by the time the evidence team finishes up," he told them.

Within five minutes the whole group was gathered in the area where the silver Infiniti was parked. Frank gave them their assignments and they piled into their vehicles and sped away.

As they drove towards their hotel, Frank said to Brandi, who was sitting beside him, "See if you can find a cleaning place that can get the warehouse cleaned up yet today."

"All right," she answered as she pushed a button on the dashboard. A computer keyboard slid out of the dash and a screen popped out of the top of the dash. Brandi began typing on the keyboard. "This one looks promising," she announced shortly. She dialed the number on her cell phone.

"Hello, Illinois Cleaning, 'No job is too big,'" a female voice said.

"I'm glad to hear that," Brandi told her, "because I have a big job for you." She identified herself and told the lady what they needed. "Can you do it?" she asked.

"I believe so," the woman replied, "but it will cost you."

"How much?" Brandi asked.

The woman named a large figure, then added, "Give or take a bit."

"That will be fine," Brandi told her.

"Okay, we'll send over a crew," the woman said, sounding surprised.

Brandi ended the call. "All set," she informed Frank.

"Just in time too," Frank told her as he pulled into the hotel parking lot. He parked under the canopy and left the engine idling. The valet approached him as they climbed out of the SUV. "Leave it," Frank told him. "We'll be right back." The valet shrugged and turned to take care of another hotel guest.

As they walked into the lobby Frank said, "You guys go get the bags and I'll check out."

"Right," Joe answered as he tarted to the elevator with Brandi and Eric close behind.

Frank approached the front desk. "I need to check out," Frank told the clerk.

"What room number, please?" the clerk returned.

"The Presidential Suite," Frank said.

The clerk suddenly got a crafty look in his eye. He typed several things into the computer. "We have a problem," he said smoothly.

"What's that?"

"It appears that your credit card has been declined. You will have to pay the room bill in cash," the clerk said, trying to look sympathetic.

"Okay," Frank said evenly, "how much is the bill?"

"Only $5,325!"


	12. Chapter 12

Frank looked carefully at the clerk. What he saw was a man in his low thirties. He had long black hair slicked down. When he smiled, it reminded Frank of a snake.

Frank leaned forward, purposely letting his windbreaker fall open to reveal his gun. "Are you sure about that?" he asked in a low menacing voice.

"Let me check one more time," he stammered nervously. He pretended to study his computer screen. "My mistake," he said, "your bill is all paid."

"Thank you," Frank said. He slapped his key card down on the desk and walked out to the waiting SUV.

Several minutes later the rest of the group walked out of the hotel door with the luggage.

"Are we good to go?" Joe asked Frank as he threw his bags into the back of the SUV.

"Yeah," Frank answered. "The clerk tried to soak me for five grand, but that didn't last long."

"What'd you do?" Brandi laughed.

"I just let him see my gun," Frank told them.

"I bet he got you out of there in a hurry," Jacobs said, his face splitting in a good-natured grin.

"You got that right," Frank replied as they climbed into the SUV. As the others laughed, he put the car into gear and drove quickly away from the hotel.

***

Frank and his team pulled up to the warehouse just as the evidence team was piling onto their bus to leave. Spying them, Agent Kipp came over to talk to Frank.

"We're all done," he told Frank. "The skeletons have been taken to the morgue. The stolen cars were towed back to their owners."

"Anything interesting at all?" Frank asked.

"Nope," Kipp replied. He boarded the bus and it sped away moments later.

Almost as soon as the bus was gone a large delivery-type truck pulled to a stop in front of the warehouse. It was followed closely by a large passenger can full of people. Both vehicles had the words 'Illinois Cleaning' displayed on the side in large letters.

A young man hopped out of the driver's seat of the can. "Someone call for a cleaning crew?" he asked the group.

"Yes, we did," Frank answered. He quickly told him what needed to be done.

The young man waved his arm at the people in the two vehicles. "This is the place!" he shouted.

The cleaners, about twenty in all, piled out of the vehicles and started unloading all finds of cleaning supplies from the back of the truck.

"Start with the upstairs living quarters," Frank told the young man, who appeared to be the group leader.

"Right on," the man said. He related the message to his group as the lugged their supplies inside.

Frank looked at his watch. "It's past lunch time," he said. "Does anybody want to volunteer to stay here while we go get some food?"

"I'll stay," Agent Jacobs offered.

"Okay," Frank said. "Let's go," he addressed his two siblings.

"Make sure they clean out the hot tub," Joe told Eric. "I may need to relax later."

"Yeah, right," the tall redhead scoffed. "You just want to see my cousin in that bikini again."

Joe blushed and hurriedly climbed into the SUV without a word. His brother and sister laughed as they joined him.

"Sage and Joe, sitting in a tree…" Brandi mocked her little brother as Frank started to drive.

"Ah, put a lid on it," Joe grumbled, obviously embarrassed.

After several more teasing jabs, his two siblings finally quit.

"I saw a burger joint a few blocks down," Frank said. "Sound good?"

"Sounds great," Joe said, eager to get the attention off of himself.

The Hardys ordered enough food for themselves, Eric, Sage, and Candice. When their order was complete, the three hurried back to the warehouse.

"What'd you get me?" Eric Jacobs asked as they entered the huge building.

"Bacon cheeseburger, just the way you like it, fries, and a Coke," Frank answered as he handed him the drink a paper fast food bag.

Agent Jacobs took a sip of the Coke and popped a French fry into his mouth. "I approve," he announced after swallowing.

"Good," Brandi shot back, "because that's all you're getting."

Eric stuck his tongue, covered with mashed French fries, out at her.

"Ew! Gross!" she said,

"Knock it off, you two," Frank refereed. He glanced around. "Aren't Sage and Candice back yet?" he asked Eric.

"I haven't seen them," he replied. "Do you want me to give them a call?"

Frank thought for a moment, then answered. "Go ahead. It can't hurt."

Eric pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed his cousin's number. He frowned and dialed again. He ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket. "That's strange," he said. "Her phone is off."

"What's so strange about that?" Brandi asked. "Maybe the battery is dead."

"Sage's battery is never dead," Jacobs said. "As far as I know, her phone has never been off since she got it."

"He's right," Frank agreed. He was beginning to get worried now. "Brandi, go out to the Infiniti and see if you can get a location on the Charger with the tracking system."

"All right," his sister replied, already on her way.

Frank glanced at Agent Jacobs who was standing by looking worried. "Finish your food before it gets cold," he advised.

Eric grinned wryly. "Yes, sir," he said as he bit into another French fry.

Several minutes later Brandi came walking back in. "The car is stationary several blocks from here," she told them.

"All right," Frank said, already on the move, "let's go." He strolled out the door, checking the load in his gun. He jumped into the SUV and the others followed. Within seconds the Infiniti was speeding away from the warehouse.

Frank followed the directions that the tracking device gave him as he drove towards the Charger. After a few minutes he saw the yellow car parked by the side of the road. He slowed and cautiously stopped the SUV behind it.

"I don't see any movement." Joe commented worriedly.

"Be careful," frank warned as he opened his door. The others did the same. Frank slowly approached the car with his M-4 ready. He reached the car and looked inside. He tried to analyze the sight that met his eyes.

The first thing that Frank saw was Candice sitting in the passenger seat. Frank could tell that she was conscious, but she looked pale and she remained motionless. Frank tapped on the window to get her attention. She very slowly turned her head to meet his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Frank mouthed.

Candice motioned with her eyes towards the floor of the car. Frank followed her gaze. What he saw startled him.

"Get back!" he shouted at the others, who were approaching.

"What's wrong?" Joe called back as he retreated.

"It's a bomb!"


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, the few of them that there are. Please continue to review.**

**Also, you guys, and me both, are so lucky. I accidentally sent my flash drive with my stories on it through the washer and dryer. The plastic covering came off, but the insides were still working. Thank goodness!**

**Anyway, enjoy the rest of the story!**

"What?" Agent Jacobs yelled in disbelief. "Is Sage all right?"

"I don't know," Frank replied as rejoined them. "She's not in there."

"Well where is she?" Eric demanded.

"I don't know," Frank repeated.

"How about Candice?" Brandi asked.

"She's in there, but she's boobie trapped," Frank answered. "If we try to open the doors, the whole thing will go up."

"What's the plan?" Joe asked.

"First we're going to back off to a safe distance," Frank told them. "Then I'm going to call in a bomb squad." The group backed away from the car. "I think we're far enough away that I can use the phone without setting off the bomb," Frank finally said. He pulled out his cell and punched a few numbers. He quickly told the Network dispatcher the situation.

"A bomb squad is on the way," she told him. "They should be there within ten minutes."

Frank quickly thanked her and ended the call. "Ten minutes," he told the group.

"Thank goodness," Brandi sighed with relief.

"While we're waiting," Frank ordered, "we can search the buildings around here for clues. Brandi, you stay here and keep an eye on Candice."

"Sure thing," the eldest Hardy agreed.

Frank turned to the other two. "Eric, you go that way." He pointed. "Joe, you go that way and I'll go this way. If you find anything, shoot up a flare. Don't use your radios; we don't want to risk the signals setting off the bomb." Joe and Eric nodded their agreement and took off in their specified directions.

Frank approached what appeared to be an abandoned office building. He tried the front door and found it locked. He began to circle the building, peering in through the dusty windows. After looking in several windows, Frank found himself looking into what had once been a storage room. He was about to move on when he spied a lump on the floor. _That looks like a body!_ he thought excitedly.

***

Meanwhile, Joe was approaching a burned out apartment building. He slowly entered a side door, sweeping from side to side with his assault rifle. Spying a staircase down the hall, Joe crept toward it. He winced as the first stair creaked loudly. If there was anybody in the building, they now knew he was there. Joe continued up the stairs with his gun ready. When he arrived on the second floor, Joe looked down the hall and saw that it was lined with doors to separate apartments. He entered the first apartment and quickly searched it. Finding nothing, he repeated the process on the next six apartments. He was approaching the eighth and final apartment when he saw a burst from a flare through the window at the end of the hall. He bolted down the stairs and out of the building. As he ran towards the flare, Joe heard the sound of a helicopter above him. He glanced up and saw the Network helicopter descending towards the location of the two cars. The bomb squad had arrived.

As Joe drew closer, he saw that it had been Agent Jacobs that had set off the flare. He was standing in front of a broken down house. Or, more specifically, in front of the garage.

"What's up?" Joe asked as he came to a stop.

"I think we have something," Jacobs replied.

"What's that," Joe asked excitedly.

Eric was about to answer when he was interrupted by Frank's arrival. "What's wrong?" he demanded.

"He thinks he hit the jackpot," Joe replied for Jacobs.

"What do you have?" Frank wanted to know.

"There's a car in this garage," Eric replied. "And it doesn't look like it's been there long," he added. He leaned down and pulled the garage door up.

Sitting in the garage was a late-model black Ford sedan. Frank walked up to the car and laid his hand on the hood.

"It's still warm," he said. "It's probably been here no longer than an hour. At the most, it's been here an hour and a half. Did you check the house?" he asked Eric.

"Completely empty," the young agent answered.

"Then I'm guessing that this garage was used just to ditch this car," Frank theorized.

"Why would they ditch it?" Joe wondered.

"Because this is the car they used to attack Sage and Candice and they knew that Candice could identify it," Eric said as he caught on to Frank's line of reasoning.

"Exactly," Frank agreed.

"What are we waiting for?" Joe asked as he stepped towards the car. "Let's search it."

"Be careful," Frank advised. "They may have boobie trapped this one too."

Moments later, his fears were disproven when they inspected the car. Joe opened the back door and looked inside. "It looks pretty cleaned out," he reported as he started to search the seat.

Agent Jacobs looked in the front seat and Frank started to search the rest of the garage.

"There's nothing back here," Joe finally reported.

"Here either," Eric agreed.

"Here's something," Frank, who had been rummaging in a pile of rubbish, said.

"What?" Joe and Eric asked at the same time.

"This," Frank answered, holding up a tangle of electronic parts. "It's Sage's cell phone, and, as you can see, it's been smashed."

"They didn't want us tracking her, that's for sure," Joe said as he looked at the pieces of the phone.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Frank said.

"So where is she?" Eric asked, the worry evident in his voice.

"That's a good question," Frank said seriously.

"Can we track her by her watch?" Joe asked.

"Only if she presses the panic button," Frank said, "and she hasn't yet."

"How do you know?" Joe retorted.

"Because, as the team leader, I would have been automatically notified," Frank replied calmly.

"Oh," Joe said sheepishly.

"So neither of you found anything else?" Jacobs asked hopefully.

"I found exactly nothing," Joe told him.

"I thought I saw a body in one of the buildings," Frank answered, "but it turned out to be a rolled up carpet."

Joe snickered. "The great Frank Hardy mistook a carpet for a body? That is priceless!"

Frank blushed. "It was dark and the window was dirty," he defended himself. He quickly changed the subject. "Let's go see how the bomb squad is doing," he said. "I'll call to have this car towed in on the way."

The trio hurried back to where they had left the cars. As they approached the vehicles, Brandi saw them and hurried towards them.

"How's it going?" Frank asked when she reached them.

"Pretty good," she answered. "They're almost ready to open the doors and then they have to disarm the bomb inside. Did you guys find anything?"

Frank quickly told his sister what they had found while they all walked towards the man who was obviously in charge of the bomb squad.

"Agent Hardy," Frank introduced himself to the lead agent.

"Agent Kirk Swanson," the man replied. "Nice to meet you."

"How much longer?" Frank asked him, motioning to the swarm of agents clustered around the Charger.

"As long as we don't run into any nasty surprises it shouldn't be more than ten or fifteen minutes longer," Agent Swanson told him. "We're just finishing disabling the traps connected to the doors so we can open them. Then we have to disconnect the ones that are attached to the girl. Once she's out, we can take care of the main charge."

"Sounds good," Frank told him. "Do you want us to do anything?"

"As soon as we get the girl out, take her and get out of here," Agent Swanson said. "Because I'm guessing that what she knows is pretty valuable and I want to make sure she doesn't get hurt if something goes wrong."

"All right," Frank agreed with the sobering order.

"Sir," a member of the bomb squad said, "we have the doors open."

Frank and Agent Swanson hurried over to the car. Frank stood behind the agents as they worked. Looking over their heads, Frank could see that Candice, although still motionless, was on the verge of hysterics.

"It's almost over, Candice," Frank told her. "Just remain calm and we'll have you out of there shortly. Are you okay?"

Candice gave an almost imperceptible nod. Frank smiled reassuringly at her as the agents carefully freed her.

"Got it!" Agent Swanson exclaimed suddenly. He pulled Candice out of the car and shoved her towards Frank. As she stumbled on unsteady legs, he shouted, "Go!"

Seeing that she was not up to walking, Frank scooped her up in his arms and ran towards the Infiniti. Brandi, seeing them coming, started the SUV while Agent Jacobs held the door for them. Frank jumped in the back seat with Candice and Eric followed them. Brandi threw the vehicle into gear and stomped on the gas. The tires squealed as she twisted the steering wheel. Within seconds they were speeding away from the bomb.

"Where to?" Brandi asked Frank as she drove.

"The hospital," Frank replied. "I think she's going into shock!"

Brandi flipped a button on the dash and the siren began to wail as she pressed down harder on the accelerator.

"How's she doing?" Brandi asked as she squealed around a corner.

"She's unconscious!"


	14. Chapter 14

As Brandi drove towards the hospital at break neck speed, Frank pulled out his cell phone and called ahead to the hospital. He briefly explained the situation and they assured him that they would be ready when they arrived.

Brandi screeched to a stop in front of the emergency room in record time. As Agent Jacobs threw open the door of the SUV, several orderlies rushed out of the door wheeling a gurney. Frank climbed out of the car and laid Candice on the gurney. The orderlies strapped her down and hurried back into the hospital.

Brandi parked the SUV and the group quickly walked into the hospital. As they entered the waiting room, they noticed that people were looking at them weirdly. Frank glanced down and realized that they were all still in their tactical clothing and carrying guns.

He pulled out his ID and held it open above his head. "It's okay, we're FBI agents," he called out. The lie was beginning to become second nature to him. At his announcement, the others in the waiting room relaxed and returned to worrying about their own problems. The group of Network agents sat by themselves in a corner of the room while they waited for news about Candice.

"So what is this all about?" Brandi wondered as they sat. "Why did they kidnap Sage and leave Candice boobie trapped?"

"And where is Sage? Why hasn't she pushed the panic button?" Eric added.

"I wish I knew," Frank answered. "About all we can do right now is wait for Candice to wake up and tell us what she knows."

"How long will that be?" Eric asked.

"I have no idea," Frank said, "but we should know soon. Here comes a doctor."

"Agent Hardy?" the doctor asked as he approached them.

"Yes?" all of the Hardys replied simultaneously.

The doctor, whose nametag identified him as Dr. Marez, looked confused. Frank hastened to explain. "I'm Agent Frank Hardy and this is my sister Brandi and my brother Joe," he told him.

"I see," Dr. Marez said. "Which one of you is the point of contact regarding Candice Winters?"

"That would be me," Frank said. "What can you tell me about her condition?"

"She's stable," Marez answered. "Due to her traumatic experience, her body went into shock and shut down as a way of protecting itself."

"Is she conscious?" Brandi asked.

"No," the doctor said, "we currently have her in a drug-induced coma. The drugs will wear off by tomorrow morning."

"And then she'll be conscious?" Frank wanted to know.

"We don't know," Dr. Marez replied. "She might wake up right away or her body might decide to wait for a while."

"All right," Frank said, "thank you."

Dr. Marez nodded in acknowledgement and strolled away.

"So what now?" Eric asked when the doctor was gone.

Frank thought for a moment. "You and Joe will go back to the warehouse. I want someone there in case the Assassins or Sage show up. Brandi and I will stay here and keep an eye on Candice. I want to know what she knows as soon as possible."

"We're on our way," Joe said as he started to walk out of the lobby with Eric following.

"Let's find out what room Candice is in," Frank said to Brandi. They walked up to the reception desk. "Can you tell me what room Candice Winters is in?" Frank asked the lady sitting behind the desk.

"She's in room 204," she told them. "You're the second ones to ask about her," she added.

The two Hardys looked at each other in dismay and instantly sprinted towards the stairs. The two siblings drew their guns as they emerged from the stairwell onto the second floor. They moved silently but swiftly down the hall towards room 204. As they approached the room, Frank motioned for Brandi o take her place at one side of the closed door while he stood on the other side. Frank slowly reached across and turned the door knob. Easing the door open, Frank looked in to see two figures bending over Candice's still body.

Frank brought his gun up and nodded at Brandi. They burst into the room. "Freeze!" Frank yelled as he pointed his gun at the intruders.

"Don't shoot!" said a very frightened middle aged woman.

"Please don't hurt us!" the man beside her pleaded.

"Who are you?" Frank demanded, keeping his gun pointed at the two.

"I'm Bernie Winters and this is my wife Dawn," the man stammered. "We're Candice's parents!"

"Let me see some ID," Frank ordered. As Mr. Winters reached towards his pocket, Frank added, "Slowly."

Bernie Winters pulled out his wallet and, after fumbling with it, managed to pull out his driver's license. He handed the plastic card to Frank who studied it closely. Frank returned his gun to its holster.

"I apologize for that," Frank said as Brandi also put her gun away. "We were just concerned for Candice's safety."

"We appreciate that," Mrs. Winters said.

"Who are you?" Mr. Winters wanted to know.

Frank pulled out his wallet and flipped it open to show the Winters his badge. "I'm Agent Frank Hardy of the FBI and this is my sister, Agent Brandi Hardy." As they shook hands he told the, "Candice has been working with us as a guide."

"What happened to her?" Mrs. Winters asked. "Is she going to be all right?"

"She'll be fine," Frank hastened to assure the couple. "Candice just had a bit of a bad experience that left her in shock. The doctors are keeping her sedated to help her brain recover."

"What happened?" Mr. Winters asked.

"That's what we would like to know," Frank answered. "All we know is that she was traveling with one of our agents. When they didn't return we went out looking for them. We found Candice in the car with a bomb attached to her."

"What about the agent?" Mrs. Winters asked.

Frank shook his head. "We don't know," he said softly.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Winters replied sympathetically.

"That's why we're here," Brandi put in. "We want to find out from Candice what happened as soon as she wakes up. We also want to make sure nothing else happens to her."

"We appreciate that," Mr. Winters said earnestly.

"We're going to sit outside the door," Frank told the Winters. "Let us know if she wakes up.

"We will," they assured him.

Frank carried two chairs out of the room and set them beside the door. AS Brandi sat in one of the chairs Frank said, "We could be here for a while. I'll run down to the vending machines and get us some stuff."

"Sounds good," Brandi agreed.

Frank hurried to the group of vending machines that he had glimpsed in the lobby. Five minutes and ten dollars later he was once again climbing the stairs to the hospital's second floor.

As Frank strolled down the hall towards Candice's room he heard a frightened scream from down the hall!


	15. Chapter 15

Frank immediately dropped the armful of snacks and drew his gun as he broke into a sprint down the corridor. As he neared Candice's room, Frank saw that the chair where Brandi had been sitting was empty. He crept to the open door of the room and carefully peaked inside. The sight that he saw shocked him. Mr. Winters had his arm around a now conscious Candice's throat. He held a silenced pistol to her temple. Mrs. Winters was pointing a silenced gun at Brandi who was lowering her own gun to the floor. As her gun hit the floor, Mrs. Winters moved closer to her.

Frank saw his chance and he took it. He took aim with his gun and fired. Mr. Winters' head jerked back as the bullet entered his face. Brandi, hearing the shot, sprang into action. She lunged at the obviously fake Mrs. Winters and, with a swift move, disarmed her. She stood over the woman with the woman's own gun pointed at her head.

Candice slumped onto the bed. She was sobbing now, nearing the point of hysterics. Frank, after checking to be sure that the fake Mr. Winters was no longer a threat, holstered his gun and rushed to Candice's side. He held her and spoke soothingly to her as she continued to sob into his shoulder.

Brandi reached into the woman's mouth and yanked out the false tooth containing the suicide pill. "She's an Assassin," Brandi said quietly to Frank as she locked her handcuffs on the woman's wrists.

"Call the Gray Man," Frank instructed Brandi. "Tell him what happened and have him send a team immediately."

Brandi had just pulled out her cell phone to comply when several uniformed police officers burst through the door with their guns drawn.

"Keep your hands where I can see them," one of the officers ordered.

A moment later a voice from behind the officers said, "Frank, what in the world is going on here?" The owner of the voice, an attractive strawberry blonde dressed in a business suit, stepped through the group of police officers. "It's all right, men," she said to the officers, "I can vouch for Frank Hardy."

"Who are you?" Brandi asked as she faced the young lady.

"I could ask you the same thing," the lady returned.

Frank finally overcame his shock and said, "Brandi this is Nancy Drew. Nancy, this is my sister, Brandi."

As the two women shook hand Nancy said, "Sister? I must have missed something. You've been keeping me out of the loop, Frank."

"It's a long story," Frank replied. "Speaking of keeping people out of the loop, what are you doing here?"

Nancy chuckled. "I guess we haven't talked much lately, have we? I'm a detective with the Chicago Police Department now."

"That's great!" Frank exclaimed. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Nancy beamed. Then suddenly remembering what she was there for, she said, "Now, are you going to tell me what happened here?" She gestured to the fake Mr. and Mrs. Winters.

Frank glanced meaningfully at the officers still clustered in the doorway. Nancy, getting the hint, turned to the officers. "Wait in the hall," she instructed, "and close the door behind you." The officers quickly followed her order and a moment later they were alone in the room. "So," Nancy began, "spill it."

Frank quickly told Nancy everything that had been going on for the last few days. He ended with, "We need to get this woman to Network HQ as soon as possible for interrogation. Can you do us a favor and get rid of your 'goon squad?'"

Nancy laughed. "Sure," she agreed. "I'll send them packing and then we can go to the HQ."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Frank interjected. "What makes you think that you can come with us?"

"If you don't let me, I'll tell them that you called them the 'goon squad,'" Nancy teased, motioning to the officers in the hallway.

Frank grinned as he gave in. "Fine," he said. "You win."

"As usual," she returned sweetly as she opened the door. "This is a federal matter," she told the officers. "The feds have it under control. You are no longer needed here."

By this time Candice had calmed down considerably. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We were hoping that you could tell us," Frank said. "What happened to you and Sage?"

"We were on our way back to the warehouse when a black car forced us off the road. Agent Jameson drew her gun but four men in black hopped out of the car with machine guns. They made Agent Jameson get out of the car. They injected her with something and threw her in the back of the car. Then they made me sit still while they hooked up the bomb. I sat there until you showed up. After they disarmed the bomb, I blacked out. The next thing I know is that I woke up here with that man pointing a gun at me. I screamed and Brandi came running in. Then you shot him and it was all over." Candice shuddered as she remembered the traumatic events.

"Well, you're obviously not safe here," Frank said cheerily. "We'll have to take you somewhere safe."

"I just called the Gray Man," Brandi said as she put her cell phone away. "A team is on the way."

"Great," Frank said. "They'll get this mess cleaned up and then we can find out what 'Mrs. Winters' knows."

Mere minutes later, the door to the room opened and several Network agents strolled in. Two of them were pushing a gurney. They quickly lifted the body of the dead Assassin onto the gurney and strapped it down. The other agents pulled the fake "Mrs. Winters" to her feet and led her out of the room while the first two quickly cleaned up the spilled blood. Within a few short minutes the agents were gone with only a few words spoken.

"I'm impressed," Nancy said once they were gone. She faced Frank. "So you finally gave in to the Network," she said. "Last I heard, you didn't exactly see eye-to-eye?" It was more of a question than a statement.

Frank shrugged. "They've changed," he told her. "Now, Joe and I are their best agents."

Brandi cleared her throat.

"And Brandi," Frank added, his smile revealing that he had not mentioned his sister on purpose.

"Speaking of Joe," Nancy said, "where is he?"

"He's with Agent Jacobs, holding down the fort at our base of operations," Frank told her.

"Where's that?" Nancy asked curiously.

"You'll see," Frank replied mysteriously. "Later. Right now we need to get to HQ and talk to our Assassin friend."

"I thought you were FBI agents," Candice broke in. "What's the Network?"

Frank sighed. "We only say that as a cover," he explained. "We actually work for a top secret government agency called the Network."

"Oh."

"We have to go," Frank told her. "We'll get the police to keep an eye on you until we can move you."

With that, Frank, Nancy, and Brandi left the room.

"Do you have a car here?" Frank asked Nancy as they approached the parking lot.

"Yes, I do," she replied.

"Why don't you ride with us?" Frank suggested. "We can bring you back when we come to pick Candice up."

"All right," Nancy agreed, "that sounds good to me."

The three climbed into the Infiniti SUV and a few moments later they were driving down the street.

"So," Nancy began, "tell me about Brandi."

Frank glanced at the clock on the dashboard before saying, "Okay, we should have enough time." He told his old friend all about how Brandi had been kidnapped when she was young and showed up on the brothers' doorstep several months ago. He finished the story by telling Nancy how they had found and captured the man responsible for Brandi's abduction.

"Wow!" Nancy exclaimed when he had finished. "That's amazing!"

"Enough about me," Brandi said sheepishly. "How do you and Frank know each other?"

"We both were in the same occupation in high school," Nancy answered. "We met while working on the same case a long time ago. Since then, we've solved quite a few cases together."

"That's cool," Brandi replied.

Nancy opened her mouth to agree with Brandi when Frank said, "We're here."

"It doesn't look like much," Nancy stated dubiously.

"Looks can be deceiving," Frank shot back.

"True," Nancy conceded. She carefully surveyed the building that they had parked beside. She was not impressed by what she saw. It was a small, squat concrete building in a dodgy section of town. The whole neighborhood had a gloomy air about it. Nancy thought that it looked too small for the headquarters of such an active organization as the Network, but she kept the thought to herself.

The trio piled out of the car and walked quickly up to the front door of the building. Frank held the door open for the two girls to enter. Once through the door, the two girls stopped short.

"Wow," Nancy and Brandi said in unison.


	16. Chapter 16

Frank's eyes twinkled as he said, "Still think it doesn't look like much, Nancy?"

After Nancy had come out of her shock, she replied, "I take back everything I said."

"This is even more amazing than the home office," Brandi added.

The hall that they had entered through the front door sloped down to the floor below it. The next floor down held a huge walk-through scanner. Through the windows on either side of the windows a glass elevator could be seen. Even from where they were standing, the group could see through the glass floor of the elevator to floors stretching endlessly down into the ground. The directory beside the elevator told them that there were 47 sublevels.

"All right," Frank said with a grin, "shut your mouths. You're catching flies." He led the way into the large scanner.

As soon as they stepped into the huge device, it lit up. "Now scanning," an automated voice announced. "Scan complete," the voice said after a moment. "Agent Frank Hardy and Agent Brandi Hardy are authorized for entry. Individual number three, identify yourself."

"Detective Nancy Drew, Chicago Police Department," Nancy replied.

"Awaiting authorization code," the machine said.

"Authorization code is H19586," Frank announced.

There was a slight pause and the scanner said, "Code accepted." There was a small whirring noise and a laminated card popped out of a slot.

Frank picked up the card and handed it to Nancy. Nancy made sure that her information on the temporary ID card was correct and then clipped it onto the collar of her suit.

The large door at the other end of the scanner slid open with the sound of compressed air and the three passed quickly through.

Nancy pressed the elevator call button. "Where are we going?" she asked Frank as the elevator doors slid open.

"Sublevel 40," Frank replied. "That's where they have the holding cells and the interrogation rooms."

"How do you know all this?" Brandi asked her brother.

"I've been here a couple of times," Frank replied. "This is actually the largest Network headquarters in the world."

"That's interesting," Nancy commented as the elevator shot downwards.

Approximately two minutes later the glass doors of the elevator slid open on sublevel 40.

"We're here," Frank announced needlessly. They stepped out into the long concrete hallway. Bright fluorescent lights drove every bit of darkness away. As they started down the hall a young man in a suit approached them.

"Nice to meet you Agent Hardy and Agent Hardy," he said as he shook their hands. "And you as well, Detective Drew," he added. "Will you please follow me? The prisoner is this way." With that he turned on his heel and walked swiftly back the way that he had come.

The three young people hurried to keep up with his quick steps. The man threw open a door and motioned them inside. Once they had entered, he shut the door behind them and they could hear his footsteps retreating down the hall. As their eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room, they saw Arthur Gray sitting in a leather chair.

"Welcome," he greeted them. He offered his hand to Nancy. "Detective Drew, how very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well," Nancy replied. She shook his hand.

"What are you doing here?" Frank asked the Gray Man.

"You know I always like to be present when an Assassin prisoner is interrogated," the head of the Network answered.

"Do we know anything about the prisoner yet?" Brandi asked.

"The DNA test shows that she is Linda Stewart of Chicago. She has been arrested several times on suspicion of murder. Other than that we do not know much about her," the Gray Man summed up briefly.

"Ah yes," Nancy said. "I knew the name sounded familiar. We've had her in custody several times but we never had enough evidence to hold her on."

"Well, let's find out what she knows," Frank said. He opened the door connecting the observation room to the interrogation room and stepped through. Brandi and Nancy quickly followed.

"Hello, Linda," Nancy said cheerily as they approached the woman sitting at the table. "We seem to keep bumping into each other."

"Detective Drew," the woman at the table sneered.

"Well since you already know Detective Drew," Frank said, "allow me to introduce the rest of us. I am Agent Hardy and this is my sister, also Agent Hardy."

Linda looked bored.

"Why did you try to kill Candice Winters?" Frank jumped right into the questioning.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Linda feigned sweetness. "I want my lawyer and my phone call."

Frank's face hardened. "You don't get either," he said as he stared into her eyes.

"You have to give me both," the woman shot back, looking pleased with herself.

"Look around, Linda," Frank snapped. "Does this look like a police station to you? You don't get anything here. You have no rights here."

Linda's face paled and her smile faded into nothingness. Frank caught what looked like a flicker of fear in her eyes and then it was gone. "I won't talk," she blustered.

"Very well," Frank said coldly. "We tried the easy way, now we get to do the hard way."

"What's that?" Linda's brave façade was beginning to crumble.

"We have developed a very powerful truth serum," Frank told her. "One shot of that and you will tell us everything."

"That won't hold up in court," Linda protested.

"You aren't going to court," Frank spoke quietly, but his words still brought shivers to Linda Stewart's spine. "Now, are you going to talk?"

"You're bluffing," she insisted.

"Fine," Frank threw up his hands. "Have it your way." He looked at the two-way mirror covering one wall and nodded.

Several minutes later a woman dressed in a white lab coat entered the interrogation room. She set a plastic tray containing a bottle and several syringes on the table. She pulled a pair of latex gloves out of the pocket of her lab coat and pulled them on. She looked at Frank for confirmation. He nodded and she filled one of the syringes. She jammed the needle into Linda's arm. She pushed the plunger down until the whole contents of the syringe had entered Linda's blood stream. She pulled the needle out and laid it on the tray.

"How long?" Frank asked the technician.

"Two minutes," she answered.

"Thank you."

The woman nodded and retreated to the corner of the room.

"You'll never get away with this!" Linda hissed as the drug began to take effect.

"I'll be the judge of that," Frank told her. He kept track of the time. When two and a half minutes had passed since the injection, he said, "Why did you try to kill Candice, Linda?"

"She knows too much," Linda answered in a creepy monotone.

"Then why didn't you kill her when you kidnapped Agent Jameson?"

"We were hoping to kill all of you too with the boobie trap."

"What happened at the warehouse?" Frank continued. "Why was everyone killed?"

"I don't know," Linda's monotone replied.

"Where is Sage Jameson?" Frank held his breath hoping for an answer that they could use to find the agent.

"She's at our headquarters."

"Which is?" Frank prompted.

Linda rattled off an address. She had barely finished when the two Hardys and Nancy were running out of the room.

"I'll have a strike team meet you there," the Gray Man called to them as they ran past.

Frank shouted his thanks over his shoulder as they sprinted towards the elevator. Mere moments later, they were shooting towards the surface in the glass car.

The trio ran out of the front door of the drab building and jumped into the SUV. Frank had the vehicle in gear and moving before all of the doors were even closed. As soon as the last door slammed shut, Frank stomped on the gas pedal. The powerful engine roared as the SUV tore down the street. Frank whipped around the corner. The tires squealed as the car almost tipped onto two wheels.

Within minutes the Infiniti was screaming up the interstate on-ramp. As the SUV gathered speed Frank glanced in the rearview mirror.

"Not again!" he groaned.


	17. Chapter 17

"What's wrong?" Nancy demanded.

"We grew a tail," Frank replied, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder.

Nancy looked behind them to see a police cruiser gaining on them with lights flashing. "Don't worry about it," she told Frank. "I'll take care of it." She pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed. "This is Detective Drew," she said after a moment. "My serial number is 91836. I'm in a gold Infiniti SUV. We're being chased by a black and white. Can you call him off?"

"Can you read his patrol number, Detective Drew?" the dispatcher asked.

"It's 110," Nancy told her.

There was a slight pause and then the dispatcher said, "We do not have a unit by that number."

"Are you sure?" Nancy asked in disbelief.

"That's affirmative, Detective."

Nancy slammed her phone shut. "He's a fake!" she yelled at Frank.

"Are you sure?" Frank was shocked.

"Positive!"

"Then get ready!" Frank called back. Brandi reached into the back of the SUV and pulled out two M-4 assault rifles. She passed one to Nancy and readied the other herself. Frank was glad that traffic was light. Heavy traffic would have been a disaster for what he was about to do.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," Nancy answered as she let the slide go forward on her M-4.

"Hang on!" Frank yelled as he slammed on the brakes. He yanked the steering wheel and the SUV skewed around so that the passenger side was facing the oncoming police impersonator.

Nancy and Brandi began firing the M-4s, set on three round burst, out of their now-open windows. The 7.62 mm bullets ripped into the front of the fake police cruiser. The girls emptied their clips and quickly replaced them. They continued firing as the police car tried to swerve to get out of the line of fire. As the car veered towards the right, the girls' fire tore into the front tire. The driver lost control and the car flipped over and began rolling over and over towards the now stationary Infiniti.

"Go! Go!" Nancy screamed at Frank.

He immediately punched the accelerator to the floor. The SUV sped away as the flaming police cruiser rolled through the area where they had been sitting moments before.

"That was close!" Nancy exclaimed as she set the safety on the M-4 and handed it back to Brandi.

"Too close," Frank agree as they sped towards the address that Linda had given them. "Do you think they had enough time to raise the alarm?"

"I doubt it," Brandi replied. "We hit them pretty hard and fast."

"We make a good team," Nancy laughed as she held up her hand.

"That we do," Brandi agreed as she gave Nancy a high five.

Frank, seeing the exchange between the two, smiled to himself. He was glad that they were getting along.

"What's that grin about?" Nancy asked as she saw his smile.

"Oh, nothing," Frank replied as his grin widened.

"I don't believe you," Nancy said suspiciously.

"I'll tell you later," Frank delayed. "Right now we need to focus on finding Sage."

Nancy rolled her eyes at Frank's obvious attempt at a diversion. "Okay," she agreed.

Approximately ten minutes later Frank stopped the SUV two blocks away from the address that Linda had given them. The three climbed out of the Infiniti and walked around to the back of the SUV. Frank opened the back hatch.

"Oh good," Frank said as he looked in the rear of the vehicle. "We have an extra strike kit." Several minutes later the three were dressed in Kevlar vests and helmets. Gas mask carriers were strapped on their thighs. They were checking the loads in their M-4s when a large panel truck pulled up and stopped behind the SUV. The back door of the truck opened and a large group of men and women wearing tactical gear began to file out.

The leader of the strike team walked up to Frank. "I'm Agent Luck," she said. "How do you want to do this, Agent Hardy?"

"We hit all the entrances at once," Frank answered. "We go in heavy. No one escapes." He showed the gathered team a picture of Sage and, as an afterthought, one of Iola. "These are our objectives," he told them. "They must be protected. Also, do your best to stop anybody trying to destroy files. We want to come away from this with as much information as possible. Are there any questions?"

Agent Luck said, "We are observing radio silence, right?"

"That is correct," Frank confirmed. "We don't know what kind of radio capability they have. I will give you ten minutes to get into position and then I will fire off a green flare. Only execute if you see green. Any other color will signal an abort. Any more questions?" There were none. "All right. Let's move!"

The strike team quietly melted off into the gathering darkness. Frank, Brandi, Nancy, and Agent Luck all approached one side of the large department store that housed the Assassin headquarters. Once they were in position, Frank checked his watch. There were three minutes left to go.

"Ready?" Frank whispered to his group. The sound of them releasing their safety catches echoed through the air.

"Ready," Nancy told him.

At exactly ten minutes Frank fired a green flare into the air and started running towards the building. The three girls followed closely behind him.

As they ran, there was about thirty seconds of eerie silence before the first gunshot. After the first shot the night was filled with the sound of gunfire.

As Frank's group smashed through the side door of the derelict store, a figure holding a Russian AK-47 loomed before them. Frank fire instinctively and the man fell to the ground screaming as he clutched his shattered kneecap. As they ran by, Frank kicked the AK-47 out of the injured man's reach.

The sound of gunfire and yells and the acrid smell of gunpowder now filled the building. Another man rushed at Agent Luck brandishing a large combat knife. Without hesitating, she swung the butt of her M-4 around and smashed it into the Assassin's jaw. He slumped to the floor, his now shattered jaw flopping open.

Other than the initial fight, the Assassins did not mount much of a resistance. They had been taken completely by surprise. Within a span of ten minutes the Assassins were being held at gunpoint in the large open area of the building.

"Hold them here," Frank instructed Agent Luck. "We're going to go try to find the prisoners."

"Yes, sir," she answered as she turned to relay the order to her men.

Frank, Brandi, and Nancy carefully started down the hall lined with doors. They held their assault rifles ready in case there were still Assassins lurking somewhere in the big building. They quickly cleared the rooms, mostly offices, as they moved down the hallway.

"This is it," Frank said finally. They were facing a large steel door set into a concrete portion of the hallway. Beside the door was a digital keypad.

"Great," Nancy said exasperatedly. "How are we supposed to get in? Do you have some C-4 up your sleeve, Frank?"

Frank laughed. "Not quite," he answered, "but that would be overkill anyway." At Nancy's questioning look he grinned even wider. "Watch and learn," he said. He pulled out his combat knife from the sheath on his leg. Without preamble he thrust it into the keypad. The girls gasped as sparks flew from the electrical panel. After a few seconds the huge metal door began to slowly open.

"Well done," Brandi congratulated her brother.

"How did you do that?" Nancy demanded.

"Easy," Frank answered. "Most of these systems open automatically if there is a problem with the system. They don't want anybody getting stuck inside. So, obviously, I just created a problem with the system." Finished with his explanation, Frank stepped into the dimly lit cell.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Frank pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Joe, you need to get over here immediately."


	18. Chapter 18

"What's up?" Joe asked his brother.

"We found her," Frank told him.

"Found who? Sage? Iola?"

"Both."

There was silence for a moment and then Joe said, "I'm on my way." The line went dead and Frank put his phone back into his pocket.

The three young people walked across the cell to where Sage Jameson and Iola Morton sat with their wrists and ankles tied and their mouths gagged. Frank leaned down and quickly removed the gags.

"It's about time you got here, Frank Hardy," Sage snapped as soon as her gag was gone.

"I'll say!" Iola exclaimed. "What took you so long?"

Frank opened his mouth to protest and Sage said, "In all fairness, it took them so long to find you because they thought you were dead." She glared at Frank. "There's no excuse for not finding me sooner, though," she said.

"We got here as soon as we could!" Frank protested. "It took a while for Candice to wake up and to pressure Linda for your location."

"Huh?" Sage and Iola were both clueless.

"It's a long story," Frank said quickly. "I'll tell you later." A wicked smile came over his face. "You two should be nice to me or I'll leave you tied up," he threatened.

"Knock it off," Brandi said as she slugged her brother in the shoulder. She stooped over the two girls and quickly sliced their bonds with her combat knife. She helped them rub the feeling back into their sore limbs.

As soon as the blood refilled her limbs, Iola jumped to her feet and flung her arms around Frank in a vise-like bear hug. "I missed you," she choked out as her eyes filled with tears.

Frank returned the hug. "It's all okay now," he murmured, his eyes also filling.

Iola regained her composure and released her grip on Frank. She was wiping the tears out of her eyes when suddenly Sage leapt up and grabbed Brandi's Glock out of the holster on her leg. She raised it level and fired at the doorway. There was a muffled gurgle of blood as an Assassin was flung backwards into the hall, his raised gun clattering to the floor.

"Thanks," Nancy said shakily.

"No problem," Sage said as she handed the gun back to Brandi, who reholstered it.

Within moments of the shot, Agent Luck and another agent rushed into the room. "What happened?" she demanded.

Frank told her and finished with, "I suggest that you have your men do a thorough sweep of the building. I don't want any more surprises."

"Right away, sir," Agent Luck said crisply as she turned on her heel and stepped quickly from the room.

"Sir?" Iola asked when she was gone. "What's been going on since I've been gone?"

Frank chuckled. "That's a long story," he replied, "and I think I'll let Joe take care of that."

"Joe's here?" she asked excitedly. "Where is he?"

"He's on his way," Frank assured her. "He'll be here any minute."

Just then Brandi stepped up to Frank and whispered in his ear, "I think DNA tests would be in order," she said. "Just in case."

"I agree," Frank whispered back. "I'll have the technicians run them as soon as they get here for cleanup."

"What are you two whispering about?" Sage wanted to know.

"Not much," Frank answered. "You'll find out later."

Suddenly, Joe burst through the door of the cell. "Where is she?" he demanded.

"I'm right here, Joe," Iola said quietly, stepping forward.

Joe only hesitated for a split second before crushing Iola in his embrace. "I've missed you so much," he murmured against her hair.

Frank motioned discreetly to Brandi, Nancy, and Sage and they all quietly left the room. As they were tip-toeing away from the room, Agent Luck approached them.

"We have…," she began loudly, but Frank motioned for her to lower her voice. "We have finished the sweep," she reported quietly.

"Find anyone?" Frank asked.

"One man," she replied. "He was hiding in a big office."

Frank was intrigued. "Bring him here," he said. "I want to have a word with him." As she turned to leave, he added, "And when the evidence team gets here, I need a couple of lab techs." Agent Luck nodded her understanding and left the group.

A moment later, Joe and Iola joined them. "Thanks," Joe said to Frank.

"No problem, bro. I could tell you needed a minute," Frank replied.

Agent Luck and another agent approached them dragging another man between them. Frank heard a sharp intake of breath from Brandi's direction. He too recognized the man from the video footage recovered at the Assassins' headquarters. This was the man that had ordered the execution of his subordinates!

"Put him in the cell," Frank ordered. He could tell from Joe's expression that he also recognized the man.

Agent Luck nodded and they dragged him through the door. The group gathered in the hall followed in him to see the two Network agents force the man into a chair and handcuff him in place.

"See if you can find some more lights for here," Frank said to Joe.

"Sure," Joe answered and began his search. A few seconds later, the cell was flooded with bright light as Joe turned on the fluorescent bulbs.

"Now," Frank began as he faced the prisoner, "let's start simple. What's your name?"

The man merely looked at him and sneered then turned back to study the floor. Frank kicked over the chair the man was sitting on and they both fell over, ending up in a tangle of human limbs and wooden chair legs. Frank reached into the man's back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open and pulled out the Assassin's driver's license.

"Mike Hinz," he read out loud. "So what's going on here, Mike?"

"Go to…," his words were cut off by Joe's fist crashing into his jaw.

"Watch your language," Joe said cheerily, "there are ladies here."

The man scowled, but said nothing. Frank motioned to the agent accompanying Agent Luck. He leaned over and set Mike and the chair upright.

"Agent Luck," Frank said, "do we have an ETA on the lab techs?"

She looked at her watch. "About five minutes," she replied.

"Do you here that, Mike?" Frank said. "Five more minutes and you'll tell us what we want to know, whether or not you want to." He plopped down on the bed that was sitting against the wall. "I guess we wait, since Mike here wants to do things the hard way."

The others in the room also sat down to wait for the arrival of the lab technicians.

Exactly five minutes later, two men in white lab coats hurried into the room. "What do you need?" the first one said.

"Two things," Frank answered. "First, Mike here needs a shot of our favorite truth concoction. Second, Sage and Iola need DNA tests."

"What?" Iola screeched.

"Just a precaution," Frank said calmly. "The Assassins have tried to use a fake you as bait before."

"Okay," Iola said, calming down. "I understand."

"We'll do the DNA tests first," the tech said. "Any specific comparison, or just a complete check?"

"Compare Sage to the file on record for Sage Jameson and Iola to the file for Iola Morton. On the off chance that they don't match, run a complete check," Frank told him.

"Yes, sir," the tech said as he began to set up a laptop computer. In several minutes the laptop and its various peripherals were ready to go. The technician handed a q-tip to Iola. "Just soak the end of that with your saliva," he told her. Iola did as she was told and a few moments later she handed the technician the q-tip. The lab tech thanked her and inserted the q-tip into a slot on one of the machines attached to the laptop. He hit a few keys and the computer beeped.

"DNA comparison stated," the computerized voice announced.

"This will only take a minute," the technician told them.

True to his word, a short time later the computer beeped again. "DNA comparison complete," the voice told them.


	19. Chapter 19

The gathered group held their breath as they waited for the verdict. "Match confirmed," the laptop said. The final part of the last word was drowned out by the cheers of the group.

"All right!" Joe yelled joyfully. He picked Iola up and spun her around as he kissed her.

The technician repeated the test on Sage with the same results.

"Now," Frank said when the noise had died down, "let's get some information out of Mike."

One of the technicians walked up to the Assassin and pulled out an auto injector filled with the truth serum. He pressed it firmly against Mike's thigh. There was a small sound as the needle shot into the man's leg. The technician held the injector in place for several seconds to ensure that all the serum had found its way into the bloodstream. He removed the injector and carefully placed it in a bag.

"He should be ready to talk in about two minutes," the technician told Frank.

"Thank you," Frank replied. "I think that that's all we need. Why don't you go help the rest of the team?"

"Yes, sir," the two techs answered as they began to pack up their equipment. Less than a minute later they had left the room.

Frank glanced at his watch. The two minutes were up. "All righty," he said, "are you ready to talk, Mike?"

"Yes." Once again it was the creepy monotone.

"Okay. What happened to your men at the old headquarters?"

"They were executed."

"Why were they executed?"

"We were trying to erase all trace of Iola Morton," was the answer.

"Why did you kidnap Iola?"

"We wanted to trap the Hardy Boys, but the trap failed."

Joe and Frank remembered that attempt well.*

"When the trap failed, why did you keep her? Why didn't you kill her or let her go?" Frank was curious.

"El Gato hates you so much that he kept her to spite you," was the unexpected answer.

"Why does he hate us?" Frank said, the surprise evident in his voice.

"I do not know," the monotone answered.

"I can kind of answer that," Iola broke in. "I did meet him once you know."

"Who is he?" Frank asked excitedly.

"He looked like a younger, kind of fake version of your dad," Iola told them.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Joe asked Frank.

"El Gato is the murderer that impersonated Dad all those years ago! He would look younger because his surgery would not age as quickly and he would look fake because the surgery methods they used back then would not stand up as well over all this time," Frank summed up.

"No wonder they worked so hard to stop the investigation of that case if their head guy was the guilty party," Brandi added.

"True," Frank agreed.

"That still doesn't tell us why he hated us so much," Joe pointed out.

"No, it doesn't," Frank said. He turned back to Mike. "Where is El Gato, Mike?" he asked.

"I can't…," Mike struggled to fight the truth serum. Suddenly he clenched his jaw tightly and fell over.

Frank quickly leaned over and checked his pulse while at the same time sniffing the man's mouth. "He still had his suicide pill!" he yelled. "Why didn't you take it away?"

"We did!" Agent Luck protested.

Sage, remaining calm, knelt beside the corpse. She pried open his mouth and looked inside. "He had two," she announced. "He must have been carrying some pretty heavy secrets."

"Like the location of El Gato," Frank said. "He was so close to telling us!" He turned to Agent Luck. "I'm sorry I yelled at you," he apologized. "I've never come across an Assassin with two pills before."

"Apology accepted," she replied.

"All right, people," Frank said, "I want everything there is to know about Mike here. I want phone records, address books, e-mails, everything. There has to be something around here to lead us to El Gato!" He turned to address only Agent Luck. "I'm going to leave you in charge of that," he said. "My team and I need to get back to our place. Call me as soon as you find anything."

"Yes, sir," Agent Luck snapped him a salute and left to give the orders to her team.

"I'll help them," Sage said and followed her out.

"Okay," Frank said to his group, "we're going to go back to the warehouse." He turned to Iola who was standing with Joe's arm around her protectively. "Do you have any clothes or toiletries?"

"Not really," she answered. "I ran out of most of my toiletries yesterday and they bring me clean clothes everyday. I don't know where they keep them."

"Well then, Joe," he turned to his brother, "take the young lady shopping. Put it on the Network's credit card, this is a business expense."

"Yes, sir!" Joe agreed quickly.

"And, Joe?" Frank said as they started to walk away.

"Take your time," Frank said with a wink.

"We will," Joe agreed gratefully.

Once they were gone, Frank spoke to Nancy and Brandi. "Well, it looks like it's just the three of us and the corpse." He motioned to Mike's lifeless body and the two girls grimaced. "What do you say we go get Candice out of the hospital and get Nancy her car?"

"Sounds good to me," Brandi agreed.

"Are you going to come over and see the new place?" Frank asked Nancy.

She checked her watch. "I'd better not," she said. "It's getting late and I need to get to bed."

"Oh, come on," Frank urged. "You can stay with us. We have plenty of room."

"I don't know," Nancy hesitated.

"Come on, Nancy," Brandi said. "Can't you see that Frank is trying to woo you? It's obvious that he likes you. I could tell from the moment that you walked into the hospital room."

"Is that true, Frank?" Nancy asked coyly. "Are you trying to woo me?"

Frank blushed a deep scarlet. "Woo is such an old fashioned word," he evaded as he glared at his sister.

"What about Callie?" Nancy asked softly.

"She went to college and apparently met the 'man of her dreams'," Frank told her. "He's Australian," he added with a grimace.

"Well, then," Nancy said cheerily as she linked her arm through Frank's, "how can I refuse? Lead the way!"

Frank's look of chagrin turned into a huge grin as he led the way out of the building. Brandi followed behind them.

Suddenly Brandi began to snicker.

"What's so funny?" Frank demanded.

"You two would look like any other couple out for an evening stroll, if it wasn't for the tactical gear and guns." Brandi's snickers turned into full laughter.

Nancy and Frank looked down at their outfits and also broke into laughter.

The trio was still laughing when they approached the Infiniti two blocks down the street. Frank opened the back hatch of the SUV and the three young people removed their gear and stowed it in the back.

"Let's go," Frank said as he opened the passenger door for Nancy.

As he climbed into the driver's seat, Brandi leaned up from the back seat and whispered in his ear. "You two make a cute couple," she told him.

"Good," he replied with a grin as he turned the key in the ignition.

*Casefiles #4 The Lazarus Plot


	20. Chapter 20

Frank took the return trip to the hospital a lot slower than he had the trip to the raid. Thirty minutes later he pulled the Infiniti to a stop in the hospital parking lot. He glanced over and noticed that both Nancy and Brandi were fast asleep. Leaving the SUV running, he quietly opened the door and got out, silently closing the door behind him.

Frank walked quickly into the hospital and up to the nurse-on-duty's desk.

"May I help you?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, you may," Frank replied. "I'm here to pick up Candice Winters," he told her.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but it's too late. Plus," she typed in some commands on her computer, "she hasn't been released by the doctor."

"Look," Frank said, "there has already been one attempt on her life while she's been here." He showed her his FBI badge. "I'm here to pick her up," he said again.

"I'll find a doctor," the nurse said as she suddenly became cooperative.

"That would be great," Frank said with a smile. "Why don't you have him meet me at Candice's room?"

The nurse agreed and Frank headed for the stairs. His stomach growled as he remembered that his supper had ended up on the floor of the hall. As he approached Candice's door, he saw the police officer sitting in a chair.

The officer eyed him warily as he came nearer. "It's okay, Officer," Frank assured him. "I'm with the FBI."

"Let's see some ID," the officer replied, his hand on the butt of his gun.

"Certainly," Frank agreed. He showed the man his badge and then said, "You don't need to guard her anymore. Miss Winters is checking out now."

"All right," the man said as he stood up. As Frank entered the room, the officer was already walking away.

"Candice?" Frank called softly as he entered the dimly lit room.

"Huh?" she murmured sleepily. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Frank," he answered.

"Do I get to leave now?" she became wide awake.

"Pretty soon," he told her. "We just have to wait for the doctor to sign the release papers. Do you have your clothes here?"

"No," she said. "I don't know where they are."

"I'll have the nurse fetch them," Frank said.

There was silence for a moment as they waited for the doctor, then Candice asked, "Did you find Agent Jameson?"

"Yes, we did," Frank answered.

"Is she okay?"

"She's great," Frank assured her. "Sage is tough. It would take more than a dingy cell to mess her up."

"That's good," Candice said.

"Yes, it is," he agreed.

Just then Dr. Marez walked into the room with the nurse hot on his heels. "Agent Hardy, good to see you again," he said as he shook Frank's hand.

"You're still here?" Frank was surprised.

"Yeah, Nurse Tower caught me as I was about to go home," the doctor replied. He walked over to Candice and checked the monitors beside her. He shone a small light into her eyes and then returned it to his pocket. He took the clip board that Nurse Tower held and scribbled his signature. "She's good to go," he said. "Just make sure you take it easy for a few days."

As the doctor and nurse turned to leave, Frank spoke up. "Do you have Candice's clothes?" he asked.

"We had to cut them off since she was unconscious," Nurse Tower replied. "We threw them away."

"What am I supposed to wear?" Candice wailed. "I can't walk around in a butt-less gown!"

"Tell you what," Nurse Tower said, "I have an extra pair of jeans in my locker that you can have."

"That would be great," Candice said gratefully.

"I'll pay you for them," Frank told her.

"What about for a top?" Candice asked as the nurse left to get the jeans.

"Here," Frank said. He took off his windbreaker and handed it to her.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

The two sat talking about the day's events while they waited for Nurse Tower.

"Were you able to get the clothes from your place before everything happened?" Frank asked Candice.

"Yes," she said, "but they were in the car so who knows if they're still accessible."

"Well, in theory, the car should be back at the warehouse by now," Frank told her. "So we can probably get your clothes when we get there."

"Ok, that sounds good," she replied.

Nurse Tower returned with the jeans. "I'll help you get dressed," she said. "You are probably still a little shaky from the drugs."

"Thank you," Candice said.

Frank handed Nurse Tower some money to cover the cost of the jeans and left the room.

A couple of minutes later, the nurse left the room. "She's ready," she told Frank as she passed.

"Thanks," he replied as he re-entered the room. "You ready?" he asked Candice who was sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Definitely," she answered. She stood up and began walking towards him. After a couple of steps, she stumbled and started to fall. Frank sprang across the room and caught her before she fell. She blushed as she said, "I guess I'm still a bit wobbly."

"That's quite all right," Frank smiled. He picked her up and began to carry her out of the room.

"I feel like a baby," she protested, her face turning redder as they headed towards the stairs.

"You weigh about the same too," Frank teased as he hefted her.

"Whatever. Can you hurry up and get out of here before people begin to stair?"

"Relax," Frank replied as he climbed down the stairs. "It's almost midnight. There's nobody around to stare."

Just then Candice's stomach growled loudly. They both laughed. Then Frank's stomach also growled. By the time they reached the first floor, they were both laughing so hard that tears were beginning to roll down their cheeks.

As they crossed the lobby, they calmed down enough for Frank to say, "We'll stop at the grocery store and pick up some stuff on the way back."

"Sounds like a good idea," Candice agreed as Frank carried her through the lobby doors to the parking lot.

Frank stopped dead in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Candice wanted to know.

"The Infiniti," Frank exclaimed, "it's gone!"


	21. Chapter 21

"What do you mean 'it's gone'?" Candice screeched. "You left it running?"

"Yeah, I did, but Nancy and Brandi were in it." He was puzzled.

"Maybe they took it somewhere," Candice suggested.

"Maybe," Frank replied doubtfully, "but they were asleep when I left them."

Just then the Infiniti pulled to a stop in front of them. "Did you miss us?" Brandi asked through the driver's window. At Frank's glare she laughed. "We woke up and decided to give you a scare," she explained while Nancy opened the back door for Frank to put Candice in. Frank did so as Nancy climbed out.

"My car is right over there," she told him. "Why don't I follow you guys to this mysterious warehouse?"

"I have a better idea," Frank said. "Why don't Candice and Brandi go back to the warehouse and you and I can take your car and go get some groceries for my hungry agents?"

"That sounds like a plan," Nancy said and Brandi quickly agreed.

"All right," Frank said to Brandi, "we'll see you in a bit."

They all said their goodbyes and Nancy led Frank to her car.

"Nice ride," Frank said appreciatively as he examined the unmarked Camaro. "I'll bet this thing can move."

"I recognize that gleam in your eyes," Nancy said with a laugh. She held out the keys. "Want to drive?"

Frank snatched the keys out of her hand. "Definitely," he said as he opened the passenger door for her. She sat down and he quickly closed the door. He walked swiftly around the car and hopped into the driver's seat. He turned the key in the ignition and grinned as the powerful engine roared to life and then settled down to a throaty purr. He put the car in gear and pulled smoothly out of the parking space.

"Now the hard part," Frank said, "finding a grocery store that's still open."

"I know a place," Nancy said. "I've had to use it a few times myself." She directed him to the store.

As they walked into the store, Frank said, "We'd better get two carts. We're going to need a lot of food."

Half an hour and several hundred dollars later, Frank and Nancy had enough food piled in the carts to feed their small army.

"I hope there's enough room in my car for all this," Nancy laughed as the two pushed the overloaded carts through the parking lot.

"If not, we can always strap you to the top," Frank teased.

"You're horrible!" Nancy exclaimed as she slugged him in the arm. Frank just laughed. After a few moments of feigned hurt, Nancy joined him.

They reached the car and Frank opened the trunk. They began to load the groceries into the car. They were both putting the last bags in at the same time when they lightly banged their heads together. They laughed softly as they straightened up. As their eyes met, the laughter stopped. Frank leaned down and his lips met Nancy's. The kiss deepened as his arms encircled her waist and hers wrapped around his neck.

Finally they broke apart. "Wow," Nancy said with a twinkle in her blue eyes.

"Wow yourself," Frank said with a grin. He picked her up. At first she squealed in surprise but it quickly turned into a giggle as he carried her to her seat in the car.

Frank took the carts to the cart return and hurried back to the Camaro. He quickly started it up and drove out onto the street. "So…," he said.

"So what?"

"Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked.

"No. I think you pretty much said it all back there," Nancy replied dryly. "Let me tell you what I think you said and you can tell me if I'm right. Your kiss, no, make that your amazing kiss said, 'I like you, Nancy. I think that you like me and I've known this for a long time but I finally acted on it.' That about right?"

"I think that about covers it," Frank agreed.

"Good," Nancy said, "then we're on the same page."

"I guess that means you like me back, huh?" Frank said.

Nancy rolled her eyes. "You can be so dense sometimes, Frank Hardy! Yes, I like you! I have ever since I met you!"

Frank's grin almost split his face. Suddenly the grin faded.

"What's wrong?" Nancy asked.

"We have cops chasing us again," he motioned to the flashing lights behind them, "and I wasn't even speeding!"

Nancy whipped her head around to look at the car behind them. She laughed. "It's just George," she told him. At Frank's blank look, she explained, "She is a state trooper now and she and I have a standing bet. She can give me a ticket if she can catch me, otherwise she has to pay for the pizza at the end of the week."

"Huh?" Frank said.

"In other words," Nancy said slowly, "you had better step on it or we're in trouble!"

"Gotcha," Frank said as he stomped on the accelerator. "Any rules?"

"Yeah," Nancy answered wryly, "don't kill anybody."

"Easy enough," he said as he swerved around a slow moving car. The speedometer passed 100 miles per hour.

"Watch out!" Nancy called, noticing that all of the lanes were blocked by semi trucks.

"Hang on," Frank replied calmly. He forged ahead. Suddenly he yanked the hand brake and twisted the steering wheel to the left. The rear end of the Camaro skewed around as the car slid through a police turn around on the interstate. When the car stopped sliding, it was facing the other way on the opposite side of the interstate. Frank floored the gas pedal and the car sped down the interstate away from Trooper Fayne.

"How's that?" he asked with a grin.

"Other than scaring me half to death," Nancy said breathlessly, "it was pretty good." She reached over and flipped on one of the radios set into the dash. She changed the frequency and then said, "You're going to have to do better than that, George."

"What in the world was that?" George yelled over the radio. "I know that wasn't you driving, Nancy Drew!"

Nancy laughed as she pushed down the microphone button. "You're right," she said. "I want you to meet someone. Meet us at the next turn around back." She pointed to the turn around and Frank pulled to a stop in it.

"10-4," George replied. "I'll be there in a minute."

In just over a minute the Chevrolet Lumina Police Cruiser that George was driving pulled in beside them. All three of them got out of their cars.

"Frank Hardy!" George exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"That is a very long story," Frank said, "that I am sure Nancy will explain to you in detail later."

"All right," George agreed. She looked suspiciously at Nancy. "Come here, girl," she ordered. Nancy obeyed and George whispered in her ear. "What is going on?" she demanded.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you are positively glowing." She gasped as a thought came to her. "Did you and Frank finally hook up?"

"What do you mean, 'finally'?" Nancy growled.

"Oh, come on," George said, "it has been obvious to everybody else how you two feel about each other. Now answer the question."

"Maybe," Nancy said evasively. She grinned.

"You did!" George exclaimed. "You have to tell me all about it." She looked at the cars streaming by. "After I take care of that drunk driver," she added. She sprinted to her car.

"Bye, George," Frank called as she opened her door.

"Bye, Frank. Nice to see you again," she said as she flipped on her flashing lights. A moment later she had entered the flow of traffic after the erratically weaving driver.

"Shall we?" Frank asked. "The others are probably wondering what happened to us."

"Let's go," Nancy agreed.

They climbed into the Camaro and reentered the traffic. They had only gone about a mile down the road when they passed George beginning to give her quarry a sobriety test. From the looks of it, he was failing miserably.


	22. Chapter 22

Frank and Nancy finally arrived at the warehouse. Frank pulled the car into one of the sliding garage doors. Standing in front of the car when it stopped were Brandi, Joe, Candice, Sage, Eric, and Iola. They all had their arms crossed over their chests.

"What's wrong, guys?" Frank asked as he and Nancy climbed out of the Camaro.

Joe broke into a huge grin. "That was easily one of the coolest things I have ever seen!" he exclaimed as he clapped Frank on the back.

"That was totally awesome!" Eric agreed. The others nodded in agreement.

"What are you talking about?" Frank asked cautiously.

"Wait," Brandi said. "Let's get the groceries upstairs and we'll show you. We recorded it."

"Okay," Frank and Nancy agreed, still puzzled.

The group all grabbed the groceries and carried them up to the living quarters on the second floor. After packing all the groceries away in the kitchen, Joe and Eric led the way into the living room.

"Check this out," Joe said as he turned on the big screen television. He pressed some buttons on the remote and the news channel, or rather a recording of the news channel, came on the screen.

"We go now to News Chopper One for the late night traffic report," the anchor said.

"The traffic is pretty light," the reporter said as the screen showed a bird's eye view of the interstate. The statement was followed by surprised exclamations.

"What's happening up there?" the anchor asked.

"It looks like we're just in time to see a high speed chase," the helicopter reporter answered. The camera shifted and Nancy's Camaro came into view on the screen.

Frank groaned as he saw George's cruiser chasing them. The camera zoomed in just as Frank executed the drift through the turn around.

"That was perfect!" Joe exclaimed as he rewound the recording. They watched it again. He rewound it again and played it in slow motion. The group cheered as Frank pulled out of the drift and floored it down the interstate.

"Flawless!" Eric declared.

"I'm confused," Frank said, "how did you know that it was me?"

"No little punk could have pulled that off," Joe answered. "Also I remembered you took that evasive driving class through the Network," he added.

Frank was becoming embarrassed by all the attention. "Enough about me," he complained. "Let's get some food and get to bed."

"Party pooper," Joe grumbled as he turned off the TV.

The group gathered in the kitchen and quickly chowed down on sandwiched before finally collapsing into bed at three o'clock in the morning.

The night passed without incident. Frank was awakened at ten o'clock by his cell phone ringing.

"Hello?" he muttered into the microphone, still half asleep. The next thing he heard brought him wide awake.

"I think we found it, sir," Agent Luck's voice announced.

"Where?" Frank asked, sitting up quickly. Joe opened his eyes and looked questioningly at his brother from his own bed. "I'll tell you later," Frank mouthed.

"According to Mike Hinz's phone records, he called a number in Cuba every morning at eight o'clock sharp," Agent Luck answered.

"That's got to be it!" Frank exclaimed. "Can we get a fix on the location?"

"Yes, sir," she replied. "I have satellite photos and maps ready for you."

"Great!" Frank scrambled out of bed. "I want two strike teams with jet helicopters ready to go."

"I took the liberty of arranging that already, sir," Agent Luck informed him. "They will meet you at O'Hare in two hours."

Frank was astonished. "Agent Luck," he said, "did anyone ever tell you that you are amazing?"

"No, sir."

"Well, you are!"

Frank could not be certain, but he thought he heard a hint of a smile in Agent Luck's voice as she said, "I'll see you in two hours, sir."

Frank hung up the phone and turned to his brother. "We got him," he said. "We leave for Cuba in two hours."

Before Frank was finished, Joe was out of his bed. "First dibs on the shower!" he called as he scooted towards the bathroom.

"I guess I'll tell the others," Frank muttered to himself as he pulled on a tee shirt. He went down the hall, knocking on all of the doors as he went. "In the living room!" Frank ordered at every door.

Within five minutes everybody, with the exception of Joe, was gathered in the living room. "What's up, Chief?" Eric asked groggily.

"We have the location of El Gato," Frank said. "We leave from O'Hare in a little less than two hours. I have assignments for all of you. Iola, Eric, and Sage, you guys will hold down the fort here. Brandi, Joe, and I will go with the strike team. Nancy, you can obviously do whatever you want. Candice, you can either go home or stay here, it's up to you. Oh, and Iola?"

"Yes?" she replied.

"You might want to call your parents and tell them that you're alive," Frank told her with a grin.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot to do that!"

"Here's my cell phone," Frank offered. "Chet's number is in there too."

"Thank you," Iola replied earnestly as she retreated to her room.

"All right, you all have your assignments," Frank said. "Get to it."

The group scattered as Frank returned to his bedroom. As he shut the door, Joe stepped out of the bathroom, drying off his hair. He was wearing black cargo pants and a black tee shirt.

"All good to go?" he asked Frank.

"So far, so good," Frank replied as he grabbed the stuff he needed for his shower.

Frank showered in record time and returned to the room dressed the same as Joe. As he pulled on his socks and combat boots, Joe inspected the rest of their tactical equipment.

"We're running pretty low on ammo," Joe said. "Should I call up HQ and have them bring some?"

"Don't bother," Frank told him, "just go downstairs to the armory and snag some."

Joe smacked his forehead. "I should have thought of that," he said as he opened the door. "I'll be back in a minute."

Frank finished dressing and packed his tactical gear carefully in its black duffel bag. He was just checking his gas mask before packing it when Joe returned with a case full of 7.62 mm ammunition. The two brothers quickly loaded their M-4s and the extra clips.

"I'll take the leftovers over to Brandi," Frank volunteered as he lifted the case of bullets. He walked down the hall to the room where Brandi and Nancy were staying. He knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" Nancy's voice answered.

"It's me," Frank replied.

The door opened and Nancy said, "Hi there." The greeting was accompanied by a sunny smile.

"Hi yourself," Frank said, returning her smile. He held up the case of ammunition. "I brought this for Brandi."

"She's still in the shower," Nancy said as she took the box. She set it on the bed. "I'll make sure she gets it."

"Thanks," Frank said. He looked into Nancy's eyes. "I guess this is goodbye," he said. "At least for a little while."

"I guess so," Nancy replied. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. When the kiss ended, she embraced him and whispered in his ear, "You be careful and come back to me safe. All right?"

"Count on it," Frank whispered back. He held her tight, not wanting to let go.

"Ahem," Brandi cleared her throat. "Am I interrupting something?"

Frank and Nancy broke apart quickly. "Uh, no," Frank answered, blushing furiously. "I just brought you some bullets."

"Okay," Brandi said, but the look on her face told Frank that she would be talking to him later.

"Well, I have to go finish getting ready," Frank said hastily. "I'll see you later, Nancy." He quickly made his retreat.

**A/N: I'm feeling a little mean today so I have decided that I will not post the last two chapters of this story until I get some reviews! Tell me you like it or tell me you hate it. At least write something!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Okay, I surrender. I'll post the last two chapters. **

**Several of you mentioned that you would like to see some detailed Joe/Iola catch up. There are two reasons why I'm not going to do this:**

**I already finished this story and wrote a sequel.**

**I'm lousy at writing those kinds of scenes.**

**And Virtute, thanks for the positive feedback on my website!**

**And Vee22, any chemistry between Frank and Candice was purely unintentional. (As you will see at the end of the last chapter.)**

With only half an hour to go until the rendezvous, the three Hardy siblings drove out of the warehouse in the Infiniti SUV.

As they started down the street, Brandi spoke. "So Frank," she said innocently, "what's the deal with you and Nancy?"

"He's had a crush on her for years," Joe answered for him.

"Oh, I don't think it's just a crush anymore, is it Frank?" she said. "In fact, Joe, I saw him hugging her this morning, and it was not a 'friends only' hug."

"Oh, really?" Joe said as he turned to look at his brother. "So spill it, Frank, what _is_ going on?"

Frank was blushing furiously by this time. "Not much," he mumbled.

"'Not much' my foot!" Brandi exclaimed. "What are you ashamed of? Nancy's a wonderful girl! Now spill."

"Okay," Frank finally agreed. He told his brother and sister everything that had happened the night before.

"Yeah! That's my brother!" Joe exclaimed. "Congrats!"

After Brandi had added her congratulations as well, Frank said, "So how about you and Iola, Joe? Is everything good there?"

"Everything's great," Joe replied. "I mean, obviously we have a few issues that we'll have to work through, but that's just a small hurdle."

"That's good," Frank said as he pulled into the parking lot by the Network's hangar. "We're here," he announced needlessly as he turned off the SUV.

The three Hardys walked quickly into the hangar, carrying the bags containing their tactical equipment. As they entered the building, Agent luck approached them. "Everyone is assembled for the briefing," she told Frank. She handed him a thick manila envelope. "Here are the satellite photos and what I believe is the best plan of attack along with several others. I also printed off a picture of your father so that the men have an idea of what the target looks like."

"Well done," Frank said as he opened the envelope. He studied the contents carefully. "I agree," he said after a few moments, "this is the best plan of attack." He walked over to where the strike teams were assembled by a screen and projector. He quickly showed the men the pictures of El Gato's compound. He outlined the plan of attack. He finished up by projecting the picture of Fenton Hardy onto the screen. "This is the target," he announced. "If at all possible, I want him alive. Any questions?" There were none. "All right, let's go."

The strike teams loaded the helicopters for the flight to Cuba. "We'll be flying in pretty low," Frank told his siblings and Agent Luck as the helicopter that they were in took off. "We don't want to get picked up on Cuban radar. I doubt that they would believe that we were coming for cigars." The group chuckled as they settled in for the long flight.

****

"We're approaching the Cuban coast," the pilot announced. The sun had already begun to set. "We'll be landing in thirty minutes."

"10-4," Frank acknowledged. "All right, everybody," he addressed the strike team, "time to suit up."

"Twenty minutes later all the members of the team were ready. They were now dressed in their full tactical gear from bulletproof vests and helmets to combat knives and assault rifles.

Ten minutes later the jet helicopters touched down on either side of the compound. In less than a minute the helicopters were gone again, having unloaded the payload of Network agents. The agents had ten minutes to get into position, then Frank would fire off the green flare to start the attack.

Frank moved into position with Brandi and Joe on either side of him. He checked his weapons and then his watch. It was time. He released the safety catch and fired off the flare. As the green glow lit up the compound, the Network agents rushed forward.

There was the sound of explosions as the strike team used C-4 to blow open gates and doors in the walls surrounding the compound. As they rushed in, they were met by heavy gunfire. The agents took cover and returned fire.

_Forget radio silence_, Frank thought. He keyed his radio. "Gas masks, everyone," he ordered. There was a lull in the gunfire as the Network agents complied. "Now throw whatever you have," he said, "tear gas or knockout." As soon as his command was finished the Assassins were hit with a heavy barrage of tear gas and knockout gas grenades. Soon there were only sporadic shots as the teams rushed the main building.

As they burst through the doors, Joe grabbed a young man who was choking on tear gas. He shoved him up against a wall and held his combat knife to his throat. "Where is El Gato?" he demanded.

"I don't know," the man replied.

"You lie!" Joe shouted. "Tell me where he his, or so help me, I will slice you a second mouth. Am I understood?"

"He's in his room," the man finally admitted.

"Lead the way," Joe told him. He put his knife away and held his handgun tightly against the Assassin's back. He motioned for Frank and Brandi to follow them as the unwilling guide led the way to the stairs.

At the top of the stairs he turned left and led them to a large metal door. "This is it," he said, his voice quavering with fear.

"Thanks," Joe said as he slugged the man in the jaw. He slumped to the floor, unconscious, and Frank dragged him out of the way.

Joe tried the door. It was locked. "Do your thing," he told Frank.

Frank slung his M-4 over his shoulder and pulled off the backpack he was wearing. He quickly attached several shaped charges of C-4 to the door. "Stand back," he warned.

The Hardys retreated back down the hall and Frank pushed the button on the detonator. There was a loud explosion as the door was ripped from his hinges. The Hardys rushed into the room with their M-4s raised.

As Joe passed through the doorway, he spied El Gato aiming a gun at him. That was the last thing he saw before the Assassin's bullet slammed into his chest.

"Nooo!" Frank yelled as he saw his brother go down. He saw the sneer on El Gato's face as he turned his gun on Frank. Without thinking, Frank pulled his trigger. Once. Twice. Three times.


	24. Chapter 24

It was a week after the nighttime raid on El Gato's headquarters. Brandi, Frank, Joe, Eric, and Sage were gathered in the Gray Man's office in New York. At Frank's request, Nancy Drew and Fenton Hardy were also there.

Joe sat gingerly in his chair as he tried to keep the pressure off of his cracked ribs. The Kevlar vest that Joe had been wearing that night had saved his life. He had come through the shooting with nothing more than three cracked ribs and a bruise the size of a softball.

El Gato had not been as lucky. Frank's shooting had been right on target. When the smoke had cleared, El Gato lay on the floor with three holes through his heart.

The Gray Man entered the room with Agent Luck on his heels. "Thank you for coming," he said to the group. "I thought that you should all hear what has been going on. I'll read your report, Frank, and then we'll talk." He picked up the manila folder sitting on his desk and skimmed through the printed pages. He put down the last sheet of paper and said, "All right, here's what we know. With the death of El Gato last week the Assassins have begun to fall apart. Combine that with our concentrated attacks on their bases and it is only a matter of time before they are obliterated completely."

"Do we know who El Gato really was?" Frank asked. "I mean, we know he was Dad's impostor from so long ago, but who was he really?"

"His fingerprints and DNA showed that he is one Brian Konkol," the Gray Man replied.

"I've never heard that name before," Frank was puzzled. "Why did he hate us so much?"

"I can answer that," Mr. Hardy spoke up. As all eyes turned to him, he continued, "About thirty years ago, a case that I was working on involved a gangster by that name. He was accused of murdering his neighbor. I was the arresting officer. I also testified at his trial. The jury convicted him and sentenced him to life in prison. He was there for five years when new evidence proved that he had been framed. While he was in jail, his children were killed by a rival gang. He blamed me for his children's death. He swore to get even with me, but we never heard of him again until today."

"That explains everything!" Brandi exclaimed. "Mine and Iola's abductions and the fact that he kept trying to hurt Frank and Joe!"

"I guess that he thought that by hurting my kids, he would find justice for what happened to him," Mr. Hardy said sadly.

Later, as the group left the Network headquarters, Nancy turned to Frank. "I have to go back to Chicago," she said. "Will I be able to see you again soon, Frank?"

Frank grinned. "Well," he said, "I was going to wait until later to tell you, but I won't. The Gray Man has asked us to move to Chicago and start up a second Chicago field office in the old Assassin headquarters."

"Really?" Nancy squealed. She threw her arms around him. "That's wonderful!"

"Oh, and one more thing," Frank said as he returned her embrace.

"Yes?" Nancy asked with a smile.

"I know we haven't been officially dating very long," Frank said, "but we have known each other for a very long time. In fact, I know you so well that it seems like I've known you my whole life."

"What are you trying to say, Frank?" Nancy asked, confused.

Frank knelt down on the walkway of the Network mansion and pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket. As he opened it, he said, "What I'm saying is that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I realize that in our line of work there is the possibility that that time could be very short and I do not want to waste any of it. Nancy Drew, will you marry me?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

**A/N: Did you enjoy the story? I hope so! Keep tuned for my next installment in this series, **_**Forgotten Dangers**_**.**


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